


A Diamond's Descent

by notmystar



Series: Hope Diamond AU [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Abandonment, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Graphic Description of Corpses, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Implied Pearl/Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Torture, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Misunderstandings, Multi, Muteness, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Originally Posted Elsewhere, Pink Pearl Backstory, Polyamory, Spinel Backstory, Steven Universe (Cartoon) Spoilers, Unethical Experimentation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-04-07 18:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 56,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19090765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notmystar/pseuds/notmystar
Summary: Hope Diamond, the replacement to-be for Pink Diamond, is made a decade after Pink's shattering. Her only company is her bubblegum-pink Pearl, who just wants to look out for her. But Hope has ulterior motives when it comes to ruling Homeworld...





	1. The Fall of The Rebellion

**Author's Note:**

> I only own my OCs! Every other character belongs to Rebecca Sugar, creator of Steven Universe.
> 
> This is an AU of the original Steven Universe; certain aspects of the story may be changed or altered to fit the story (meaning some characters may have different motives/personalities than in the actual show)
> 
> This is my first fanfiction, so I'm constantly improving my style of writing. Any suggestions to improve are welcome!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crystal Gems rise and defeat Pink Diamond, only to suffer the consequences later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first 9 chapters were originally posted on Wattpad. Chapter 10 and onward will be released on both platforms simultaneously.

About 6,000 years in the past:

It all started out perfect.

Pink Diamond had just gained her first colony after thousands of years of begging her fellow Diamonds: White, Yellow and Blue Diamond.

The planet Earth.

She started colonization plans on her Moon Base along with her personal Pearl. She would observe her new colony's status with the Observation Orb inside the base.

The gems of the Prime Kindergarten had emerged on time (except for one), spires were being built, arenas were constructed, nothing could go wrong, right?

Well, there was a problem that came along shortly after the gems emerged. Two of Pink Diamond's gems had gone rogue.

\---

Rose Quartz and her Pearl had started a rebellion, fighting for the freedom of Earth from Homeworld's colonization plans. They intended to scare Pink Diamond and all of her gems off the face of the planet.

What did they call themselves? The Crystal Gems. A name that would eventually live in infamy across gemkind.

Upon learning about this threat to her colony, Pink Diamond called upon two of her Diamond allies: Yellow and Blue Diamond. They assured her the Crystal Gems would be dealt with.

And just like that, the rebellion had a newfound disadvantage: it was two gems against almost all of Homeworld.

\---

Rose Quartz was an 8 foot tall gem with curly pink hair, black eyes, peach skin, and a long white dress that had a star shaped cut on her naval, where her pentagon-cut pink gemstone is located. She looked like any other soldier from the outside; big, bulky and strong. Her personality, however, did not match her looks. She was a kind, loving gem who had appreciation for both other gems and organic life; a trait many gems do not possess.

As caring as she was, she was also  _ver_ y strong by gem standards; having multiple powers and abilities that no other gem has. Many knew her for her battle strategies and fighting capabilities.

 _Man_ y would soon grow to fear her.

Her Pearl, better known as the  _Renegade Pearl_ , had pale skin, short pale pink hair, blue eyes, a blue and white top with a sheer fabric skirt and pink pants with yellow socks. Her gem was located on her forehead, an oval shaped pearl.

On Homeworld, Pearls were mere servants. They did not exist to fight, only serve the upper class gems. A Pearl doing anything outside of being a servant was considered defective and unheard of.

This Pearl was one of those rare cases.

She learned how to be Rose's knight, to protect her, to fight for her.

Some considered her to be quite terrifying; others would disagree: she is just a Pearl, she is weak like all the others.

They would be proven wrong in a few hundred years.

\---

Their names began to spread starting at the attack on the Cloud Arena 5,750 years ago. Blue Diamond had called one of her Sapphires to predict the rebels' next strike and the outcome of said attack.

"I foresee the rebels attacking the Cloud  Arena. Before they are cornered, they will destroy the physical forms of seven gems, including two of my Ruby guards, and myself. Immediately after my form is destroyed, the rebels will be captured. The rebellion ends here."

This prediction would only be half correct. They had destroyed the physical forms of only six gems.

When Pearl was about to strike Sapphire, a voice could be heard.

"No!" The last remaining Ruby guard had yelled.

Sapphire had been shoved out of the Pearl's field of vision by the Ruby guard, successfully protecting her. However, they both soon began to glow.

In their place stood an entirely new being.

 _A cross-gem_ _fusion_ _._

The crowd of gems, including Rose and Pearl, stood there in shock of what they saw.

Realizing the Crystal Gems were still there, the Topazes and Amethysts that were close to them had attempted to seize them both, but failed as they escaped.

"Is this?" The fusion had said in disbelief.

She then unfused, leaving a furious crowd of gems commenting on what they just saw.

"Unbelievable!"

"Disgusting!"

"This is unheard of!"

Blue Diamond's voice had cut through the crowd, approaching them in her palanquin.

"The rebels have fled. Sapphire, this is  **not** the scenario you described."

"This is- not what I saw. I don't know what happened, I-"

"No!" Ruby had interrupted Sapphire. "It was me."

"Clearly. How dare you fuse with a member of my court." Blue Diamond had said angrily.

"Forgive me, I-!"

"You will be broken for this!" Blue Diamond had cut Ruby off.

The gems in the Diamond's court surrounded Ruby, ready to take the gem out of it's miserable existence. However, what they did not expect was Sapphire running away with the Ruby and escaping the Cloud Arena.

"No~!" Was the last word they have heard from the Ruby.

\---

They both landed on the grass on the ground, their fall being softened by Sapphire's ability to float.

"Why'd you do that? I have to get you back up there!" Ruby had said, panicking a bit.

"They were gonna break you." Sapphire had told her.

"Who cares? There's  _ton_ s of me!" Ruby had said, looking up at the rain clouds.

Ruby had grunted to herself, walking around in frustration trying to understand what Sapphire did and why she did it.

"Agh! What do we do now?" Ruby had asked, clearly frustrated yet desperate.

It was when Ruby said this that Sapphire realized something. Before this incident she knew everything that would happen in her life and when it would happen. Thanks to Ruby's impulsive gesture, she would no longer have accurate predictions. Everything she saw from then on was wrong.

She literally froze up just thinking about it.

"Ah! We have to get you... out of here." Ruby had said, then pulling her out of the ice that surrounded the bottom of her dress. She had carried Sapphire, being ever so careful not to drop her.

"Come on." Ruby had said, running to get them both out of the rain. She had kept running until she found a cave in the middle of the woods. Feeling it was adequate for them to reside for a bit, she carefully dropped Sapphire in the cave.

"Alright, this should be good for now." Ruby had told her.

"Thank you." Sapphire had said, moving her hair in front of her eye to make it visible.

Ruby was visibly blushing. Fire started to burn at her feet.

"Whoa! Heh..." She was a bit embarrassed.

Ruby had used her heat making abilities to set up a campfire in the middle of the cave.

"What kind of Ruby am I supposed to be? Look at this, it's all my fault you're stranded here. How am I gonna save you?" She had said while walking around, her hands in her hair.

"You already did." Sapphire had corrected Ruby.

"What?" Ruby said, clearly confused.

"You already saved me." Sapphire had clarified.

Ruby had just given up and sat down across from Sapphire. They both had the same thing on their mind.

The being they had fused into.

Ruby was looking at the red gem on her left palm.

Sapphire had both of her hands out.

"I- I've seen gems fuse before, but I had no idea that's what it felt like." Sapphire broke the silence. "I always thought- I've never realized that fusion- that you just... disappear like that.

"It's never like that!" Ruby had explained to her. "Whenever I fused it's always just been me, but bigger, I- I've never had a third eye before."

"I've never had more than one! It was nice." Sapphire had added.

Ruby was visibly blushing.

"Hah...yeah...".  
\---  
The two would then witness the wonders of Earth: the sunrise, the organic life that lived there, the night sky.

"Oh... um... well, I just can't stop thinking." Ruby had said to Sapphire.

"So...um....did you say I was different?" Sapphire had asked Ruby. Ruby had nodded for clarification.

"And you hadn't before-?" Ruby had asked.

"Of course not. When would I have ever?" Sapphire responded.

"I'm so sorry." Ruby apologized.

"No, no, don't be."

"And now you're here forever!" Ruby told her.

"What about you?"

"Well, what about me?

"Well, you're here too. We're here  _together._ "

Ruby and Sapphire had got up and started slowly dancing. They attempted to hold hands, but they both had a gem on the opposite hand. Instead, they set their hands on the other's arm. They danced for a bit before once again glowing. They formed the fusion once more, intending to try to get the hang of being fused into this new being.

The fusion then found herself falling down a hill.

\---

Rose and Pearl couldn't stop thinking about what they witnessed.

A fusion of two different gems, what a foreign concept it was to both gems.

One in particular grew fascinated with the idea of two completely different gems fusing into one that was an entirely new being.

Pearl had attempted to fuse with Rose in this fascination.

"Fu-sion....  _activate_!" Pearl had said while carrying Rose, hoping it would work. Unfortunately, it did not. Both gems tumbled to the ground.

Pearl had apologized for the incident, admitting her fascination for not only what Ruby and Sapphire had done, but for a certain imagination she had. Pearl had begged Rose to tell her to stop. But instead, she said something Pearl would never forget.

"Please don't ever stop!" Rose had told Pearl excitedly.

Both then glowed as they merged into a single being, then immediately splitting up into their normal selves.

A noise could be heard from the bushes.

Pearl went to investigate, only to find the same cross-gem fusion that they just saw.

"Ah!" The fusion had yelled. "Don't hurt her! Don't hurt...me?" She had rephrased her sentence, remembering she was a fusion.

"It's you. The fusion." Pearl had told her.

"We didn't mean to fuse! Well, we did this time. We'll unfuse! W-we'll... w-we'll..." The fusion had stuttered in sight of the approaching gem, Rose Quartz.

"No, no, please. I'm glad to see you again." Rose had told the fusion.

"I don't... upset you?" The fusion had asked her.

"Who cares about how  _I_  feel?" Rose had said, rolling her eyes while smiling. "How  _you_  feel is bound to be much more interesting.".

"How  _I_  feel? I- I feel, lost... and scared... and... and happy. Why am I so sure... that I'd rather be this than everything I was supposed to be... and that I'd rather do this than everything I was supposed to do?" The fusion questioned.

Rose started laughing.

"Welcome to Earth." She had told the fusion.

"Can you tell me, how was Ruby able to alter fate? Why was Sapphire willing to give up everything? What am I?"

"No more questions. Don't ever question this." Rose had held both of the fusion's hands.

"You already are the answer."

\---

From then on, the fusion (Garnet, she would soon call herself.) would fight not for the Diamonds, but for herself, for Earth.

Rose Quartz would find herself gaining more and more allies on her team. A Bismuth, who would forge weapons for the rebels instead of towers for tyrants, A Biggs Jasper, A Snowflake Obsidian, and so on.

The Crystal Gems were a force to be reckoned with for several hundreds of years.

\---

However, the gems on Rose's side were decreasing by many. Homeworld had grown stronger and would soon shatter them all if the Crystal Gems didn't act fast and change tactics.

Rose Quartz decided it was time for a new plan, a plan that would shock Homeworld to its core. This action would change  _everythin_ g. It would go down in gem history as one of the most, if not,  _the mos_ t infamous incident in all of gemkind.

\---

Korea, Earth, about 5,000 years in the past:

Pink Diamond's Palanquin was parked on a hill. Inside it was Rose Quartz and Pearl, discussing Rose's newest war strategy.

"...and then we'll be done! It's going to be easy!'" Rose had finished telling Pearl.

Pearl was hesitant about the idea. She wasn't sure that this was the wisest course of action.

"There's got to be another way. I mean, maybe-"

"Blue and Yellow don't care. They never have. This is  _Pink Diamond's Colony."_ Rose had rolled her eyes when she said that last statement. "We can end it all right here, right now."

Pearl clutched on Rose's Sword. A sword Bismuth had made for Rose before she mysteriously disappeared.

"You know this is  _crazy_ , right?" She had asked Rose.

Rose had nodded, understanding what Pearl meant.

" _Your_ status,  _my_ purpose. None of it will matter anymore." Pearl had reminded her.

Rose nodded once more, smiling this time.

"This will change  _everything_." Pearl had assured her.

"I know, isn't it exciting?!" Rose had responded.

Pearl had exhaled, blushing.

"It is."

"We could leave our old lives behind. If this is really  _my worl_ d, I want to give it to the Crystal Gems. I want to live here with human beings. I want to live with you! We'll both  _finally_ be free." Rose had tried to convince Pearl.

Pearl was fully convinced. She blushed while looking down. Looking up again, she said the words Rose wanted to hear.

"Okay, I'm ready."

"Pearl~!" Rose said with stars in her eyes, giddy that Pearl decided to go along with her plan.

Rose and Pearl held hands.

"I can't believe I'm going to do this." Pearl had said in disbelief.

"I can't exactly shatter myself." Rose had explained.

Rose and Pearl embraced in a hug, comforting one another.

When they stopped their hug, Rose had glowed white with only her gem showing.

This was not the glow of fusion, but shapeshifting.

Rose's gem had turned downwards, revealing a diamond-cut gem.

Rose had shapeshifted back into her  _tru_ e form, Pink Diamond.

Rose Quartz was the secret identity of the youngest member of The Great Diamond Authority, Pink Diamond. Pink had assumed this form in order to rebel as someone other than herself.

What Pink was about to do would change her identity permanently.

Pink had gone outside the Palanquin. When she came back inside, she was holding a pile of dirt along with a hibiscus flower. Pearl took the flower and wore it on her head. Pink then proceeded to smash the dirt until it turned into pink gem shards.

"Convincing?" Pink had asked Pearl.

"Very much so, My Diamond." Pearl said, visibly disturbed at the sight of shards.

"Soon it will be just...Rose." Pink had said, swallowing the gem shards afterward.

Pearl had begun to take Rose's Sword out of its scabbard before Pink stopped her.

"Wait, there's one last thing I need to do." Pink had told her.

"Yes?"

"No one can ever find out we did this. I never wanna look back." Pink told Pearl.

"So, for my last order to you as a diamond," Pink began placing Pearl's hands over her mouth. "Please, let's never speak of this again. No one can know." The final words Pink said before stepping out of her palanquin.

Pearl had shapeshifted into Rose Quartz, taking her sword, ready to enact the plan.

\---

A battle was going on near the palanquin. The sounds of gems struggling and weapons clashing could be heard from atop the hill.

Members of Pink Diamond's court had gathered around the palanquin, eager to see their Diamond in person. Rumors were spread during the wait for the diamond to step out of the palanquin. The downfall of the rebellion, speculation about Rose Quartz's powers, the talk of what the Diamonds do to shattered Crystal Gems. All conversation was silenced when Pink Diamond got out of her hot pink palanquin.

"Greetings, members of my court! I'm glad you all could make it here tonight. Let us discuss a plan of mine to be rid of-" Pink had began to step out until she spotted "Rose Quartz" rushing at her with a sword.

Pink assumed a defensive stance until "Rose" stabbed her in (what seemed like) her gem. Pink Diamond's physical form vanished into smoke, leaving only shards on the ground.

Gems who were watching looked on in shock. They all stood still, their minds trying to process what just happened.

"Rose" took this opportunity and fled into the woods.

She had one thing in the back of her mind.

The deed was done, and there was no turning back now.

\---

Behind a bush, Pearl shapeshifted back, holding Pink Diamond's gem.

Pearl couldn't contain herself. She began to cry, thinking about what she would do if what she just did really happened.

 _If her Diamond really did perish, what_ _would_ _she do?_

Pink Diamond's gem began to glow. She did not reform as Pink Diamond, but as Rose Quartz. It was going to be her permanent identity now, after all.

She took notice of Pearl's tears.

"Pearl, it's alright. I'm here now, everything's just perfect. We can live our own lives now." Rose had comforted Pearl, hugging her tight.

\---

Yellow Diamond was in her newest colony's Moon Base along with her Pearl. She awaited for her Corundum to return with the news she wanted to hear:

"The Crystal Gems have been terminated."

A Corundum's job on Homeworld was to come up with both battle strategies and colony plans. Each Diamond had a personal Corundum: White, Yellow, Cyan, and Pale Pink. Every gem army had at least one as well. They used the same resources as Rubies and Sapphires did. They were less common than Rubies, but more common than Sapphires: they were the middle class. Yellow Diamond had sent her's to aid her soldiers in her Diamond's absence.

Progress on Pink Diamond's colony had been thwarted for nearly a thousand years due to the Crystal Gems' persistence. Pink had been begging both her and Blue to leave the Earth alone for years after the discovery of the rebellion's existence.

Of course, Yellow wasn't having any of it. Pink had begged her and annoyed her for so long for that very planet. For her to not want it would mean that was all for nothing. After all, a simple Quartz couldn't hurt her, she was a  _Diamond_ for star's sake.

Yellow could only hope that when the Earth's colonization is completed, Pink wouldn't do this with  _every_ colony she got her hands on (if she was ever to be given another one).

Finally, after over 300 years, her personal Corundum returned on her ship. Yellow Diamond had a smug smile on her face, taking this as a sign.

 _They_ _were_ _surely terminated._

Yellow Diamond's Pearl was relieved. Her Diamond could finally rest easy and put Earth behind them.

And then Yellow Corundum walked in.

She did the Diamond salute, folding her hands in the shape of a diamond while bowing. She had visible tears on her face. Strangely, they were only coming from one eye.

"My Diamond. My deepest apologies..."

Yellow Diamond had thought she was apologizing for taking too long.

"...Pink Diamond is  _gone."_  Corundum had finished, showing her shameful and sorrowful facial expression. What caught both the Diamond and Pearl's attention was the Corundum's missing eye, but that concern was brief when they realized what she said.

"What do you mean, gone?! Spit it out!" Yellow Diamond had demanded.

"P-Pink Diamond was s-shatterred by Rose Quartz in front of her entire court..." Corundum was barely heard over the sobbing.

Yellow Diamond was in disbelief.

"Impossible! A Diamond shattered? That cannot be."

"Sadly, it is, My Diamond. Her gems recovered her shards where she was shattered." Corundum had stated.

Yellow Pearl froze, eyes wide in fear.

Yellow Diamond was choking up. Tears were welling on her eyes.

_Pink is truly gone._

The truth had finally settled in.

\---

Blue Diamond was at one of her colonies, checking on the production of her new gems. Her personal Pearl was with her, as always, along with her Corundum, Cyan Corundum.

She believed that the Crystal Gems were nothing but defective gems seeking attention they do not deserve. Pink was simply using them as an excuse for leaving the colony alone.

Why she would do this is beyond her. When Pink told Blue she wanted to preserve the life on Earth, she heeded her request and placed some humans in the newly established deep space Zoo. If that wasn't it, then what was? Perhaps Pink was too immature to keep up with maintaining the new colony.

"My Diamond, all of the Larimar have emerged in the Alpha Kindergarten. The best course of action is to send half to Earth to aid in destroying the rebellion and move on to the next Kindergarten up north, the Vega Kindergarten." Cyan had suggested to Blue Diamond.

"Your advice is dually noted. Thank you, Corundum." Blue Diamond thanked the Corundum.

Just after she thanked her, an Aquamarine in Blue Diamond's court flew down from the sky.

"What is the meaning of this?" Blue Diamond demanded to know.

"My deepest, sincerest apologies, My Diamond, but Pink Diamond has been shattered several hours ago by the leader of the Crystal Gems, Rose Quartz."

Her Pearl looked sideways, her hands covering her mouth while shivering.

Her Corundum's eyes widened, with her hands on her face. Her mind couldn't process that a Diamond of all gems had been shattered. She thought of Pink Diamond's Corundum.

 _"Is she_ _alright_ _? How did she take the news? Or did Rose Quartz_ _shatter_ _her as_ _well_ _?"_

The news struck Blue Diamond deeply, soon denial had come into play.

"No, that's impossible. We are Diamonds. We reign forever." She told the Aquamarine.

"Shards were recovered at the scene where she was shattered. Rose Quartz no doubt shattered her." The Aquamarine replied.

Blue Diamond felt a massive amount of guilt. She recalled something she told Pink when Pink begged her to leave the colony alone.

" _This 'Rose Quartz' can't hurt you. You can't be swayed by a few unruly gems."_

 _"You must understand. You are a Diamond. Everyone on this planet is looking to you. You don't_ _even_ _have to do anything, just smile and wave._ _Show_ _everyone you are unfazed by this... little uprising. Your gems will fall into line, and these Crystal Gems will be no more."_

_"As long as you are there to rule, this colony will be completed."_

She deeply regretted saying what she did back then.

She cried massive tears, releasing an aura that affected all gems around her, including her Pearl and Corundum. This aura caused all gems affected to share her sorrow.

If only... if only she had truly appreciated what Pink had done when she was among the living.

Blue stood there for two whole days, doing nothing but mourning the loss of her Pink.

\---

White Diamond was in her ship, observing Homeworld without actually being outside.

Her Pearl was with her, a blank stare she wore. She had only her right eye.

Her Corundum was also present, her hands clasped, waiting for her Diamond's next directions.

White viewed Pink as a mere child, an attention seeker who loved to play. She was inferior to her in every way.

Then again, every gem was inferior to her perfection.

One of White Diamond's Calcites had entered the ship.

"My Diamond, my extraordinarily radiant Diamond, Pink Diamond is shattered. Rose Quartz has killed her outside her palanquin." Calcite had stated.

Oddly enough, White still had the same expression on her face, as did her Pearl.

White Corundum hid her surprise.

"....Oh Starlight, again with these silly games I see." White finally said.

"My Diamond?" Calcite had said.

"Leave us be." White Diamond had said.

"....Alright..." Calcite had said before leaving.

"Oh, Corundum?" White had addressed her Corundum.

Corundum immediately saluted.

"What is your wish, My Diamond?" She responded.

"Send a message to Yellow and Blue. Tell them to meet us in here as soon as possible."

"Right away, My Diamond."

\---

Pale Pink Corundum had been asked to stay on the bottom of the hill where the palanquin was kept until further notice by her Diamond. It was a direct order, so she couldn't say no. She couldn't help but wonder, though. Why not assist her and Pearl?

"Corundum." Pink Diamond was behind her, having finished her private conversation with Pearl.

"Oh! My Diamond! How was it?"

"It went well. Now come, I have to tell every gem in my court a strategy I came up with to get rid of the Crystal Gems and I want you to be there too. Root for me, please!" Pink Diamond said, smiling. She was always very kind to Corundum, like she was a fellow Diamond.

She admired her Diamond for that reason.

Corundum was in front of the crowd of gems who were in Pink's court. She knew her Diamond wouldn't falter. Pink was the joy of Homeworld, she could do anything in front of a crowd.

Among the gems in Pink's court, she recognized a few. One being the "ultimate" quartz, a Jasper from the Beta Kindergarten in Facet 9. She was tough, but loyal to her Diamond, she would never join the rebels as most of the Beta Kindergarten gems had. Corundum respected her for that.

Once Corundum heard Pink Diamond's voice, she immediately looked up. Pink wasn't nervous, like she figured she wouldn't be.

All of a sudden, Rose Quartz had popped up out of nowhere and stabbed Pink Diamond, immediately shattering her.

Corundum could barely process what she just saw with her own eyes. Her Diamond, her perfect, gleeful, loving Diamond, was gone. Just like that.

Before she knew it, tears blocked her field of vision.

_I failed. I failed to keep her safe._

\---

Days later, Yellow and Blue were in White Diamond's ship, along with their Pearls and Corundums.

The Diamonds had abandoned all hope of Earth being a successful colony, however, they did not want to surrender so easily.

The leader of the rebellion shattered one of their own. They couldn't just let her win. They had to show all of the rebellion what it means to oppose the Diamonds directly. However, they were in disagreement about how they should go about getting rid of them.

"We need to destroy the Earth and all life who inhabit it!" Yellow Diamond had argued.

"No. We must only destroy the gems. The planet was her's, we need to preserve its legacy." Blue Diamond had argued.

"Why not do both?" White Diamond had said.

Yellow and Blue looked at her.

"If these "Crystal Gems" are not defeated in another five hundred years, we use our powers to destroy all the gems remaining on the planet. Then, on the off chance they survive, we destroy the planet. And if they don't, we destroy it anyway." White Diamond suggested.

"With all due respect White, ow would we go about doing that?" Yellow Diamond had asked.

"My Diamonds, I apologize for the sudden outburst, but I have a way of doing that." White Corundum had told the Diamonds.

"We take the shattered remains of any Crystal Gems shattered, combine them, bury them underground, and then implant them in the Earth."

"We could combine millions of these shards and plant them in Earth's core. Then, when they reform, the Earth will be destroyed." Yellow Corundum had added.

"Interesting. Then it's decided." Yellow Diamond had said. "Pearl, order our scientists to commence the experiments as soon as possible."

"Yes, My Diamond." Yellow Pearl had responded.

"Meeting adjourned." White Diamond declared.

\---

Several centuries later:

Rose didn't understand. The gems had only fought harder than before. They hadn't given up hope at all.

Their casualties were still piling up; higher than before. Maybe the shattering wasn't the best idea. Maybe she made a mistake. She had broken the spirits of hundreds of gems that day; that should have got them to go back home.

But it didn't. They were still here. Still going strong.

One thing concerned Rose most of all: the missing shards of her fallen teammates. Usually they were left behind, but not recently. No shattered remains were left unchecked by any gem. She didn't know if another Crystal Gem was keeping them or if Homeworld was keeping them. It was still strange.

Rose had recently battled one of Yellow Diamond's Hessonites. She had a light prism, making her a challenge, but Rose had won in the end.

She was currently fighting an Ice Quartz in the Strawberry Battlefield. She seemed persistent, more persistent than any other quartz. On top of that, many of the gems that were once on the battlefield were now gone. Where were the opposing gems?

"It won't be long now, Rose. Your little rebellion is going to go down in flames soon enough." Ice Quartz had taunted Rose.

Pearl and Garnet were fighting other gems next to her as well. Rose constantly looked over her shoulder to ensure their safety. They were two of the last gems she would want to lose.

Unbeknownst to them all, a  _hug_ e game changer would soon come by.

\---

White, Yellow and Blue had stood on a ship, ready to end the rebellion once and for all.

"This is for Pink." Blue Diamond had said.

All three Diamonds positioned their hands and concentrated their powers on the Earth, wanting a planet wide attack.

Two of the Diamonds wanted nothing but death to the gems left on that planet.

One, however, had something else in mind.

White, Yellow and Blue's arms began to glow their respective colors, preparing to fire at the Earth.

\---

Rose noticed a large amount of gems fleeing in front of her. They were all from Homeworld.

She felt like crying with joy. They were finally going to leave the Earth alone. The remaining Crystal Gems would finally be free.

Or so she thought.

After the majority had left, Rose had noticed three lights in the sky.

She nearly shattered when she noticed the colors of those lights.

In a panic, she summoned her shield. She then grabbed Pearl and Garnet and tucked them under the shield's protection.

The lights then grew both bigger and brighter, covering the entire planet with light.

This was the  _fall of the rebellion._

_\---_

_Saturn, a decade later:_

The gem colony was as silent as it has ever been since it was abandoned, leaving the Agates to guard the facilities.

White Diamond used the resources of the planet to her advantage long ago.

A massive rumble could be heard in the planet's core. Light emerged from the ground.

The Agates trembled in fear of what they saw next...

_To be continued...._


	2. Hope For a New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new gem emerges on another planet...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first 9 chapters were originally posted on Wattpad. Chapter 10 and onward will be released on both platforms simultaneously.

A decade after the end of the rebellion:

On Homeworld, the shattering was still fresh in all gems' minds. Sorrow filled the former gems of Pink Diamond's court, who had fallen into custody of the remaining Diamonds.

Blue Diamond had taken custody of most of Pink's gems; including those who were made on Earth. The Quartzes who were made on Earth were stationed at the late Pink Diamond's Human Zoo. She had placed almost every single object related to Pink Diamond in that facility, including the Rose Quartzes that were taken out of service. She had trusted one of her Holly Blue Agates to keep the zoo running and the gems there in line.

She took Pink's demise the hardest out of all her fellow Diamonds.

Yellow Diamond was trying her best to let go of everything related to Pink Diamond, including her failed colony. She couldn't wait for the Cluster to emerge and shred that rock to nothing but dirt. She hated seeing that damned rock on the star maps.

She had taken custody of a few of Pink's gems, including the "ultimate" Beta Kindergarten quartz, a Jasper.

She soon learned that her Corundum's right eye was broken by a Crystal Gem with a device used to permanently remove a part of a gem's form, a Limb Breaker. It did not hinder the performance of her Corundum, so it was no big deal. After all, resources were running low, Yellow Diamond had no need to replace her.

She had, after all, helped come up with the idea of the Cluster.

\---

White Diamond stood in her ship along with her Pearl and Corundum. Silently, she observed Homeworld through the eyes of her ship; never bothering to step outside.

After the attack on Earth she had done with the other Diamonds (and shortly beforehand) she had secretly worked on plans for a brand new gem. A special gem.

One that would assure her Starlight's guaranteed failure.

She wanted nothing more than to expose Pink Diamond for the failure she was; having to create a whole new identity just to get other inferior gems to surround her. Pathetic little defect.

She had sabotaged the attack on Earth. She did not want Pink to just die without learning a lesson. She wanted her to come crying back to beg the other Diamonds to reverse the corruption it spread on the gems, then make her stay on Homeworld permanently.

No matter if she was  _dead_ or alive. She would never get another colony.

\---

 _Saturn_ :

The Agates summoned their weapons from their gems. They did not know if what emerged from the ground was a threat or an ally, but they wouldn't take any chances.

"It's coming up. Assume your positions!" One of them had yelled.

What came out of the ground turned out to be a gem. An extremely tall gem, she stood at about 20 feet tall, having light blue skin and multicolored hair. The hair was a combination of light and dark blue. Her eyes were also dark blue, but what stood out about them was her pupils.

They were diamond shaped.

She had a diamond cut gem on her lower chest.

The Agates had put two and two together.

They had just witnessed the creation of a fifth Diamond.

\---

White Diamond had been in her ship, reading recent records of gems.

One of White Diamond's Calcites had entered her ship.

"My Diamond, my extraordinary-"

"Please, Calcite. Get to the reason behind this intrusion." White Diamond had said, clearly annoyed.

"...Of course, My Diamond." Calcite responded, looking a bit down.  
"The Agates of your colony, Saturn, have reported abnormal activity on the planet's interior."

"What sort of activity?" White Diamond had asked, suddenly intrigued.

"The Agates specify that it was reminiscent of a gem emerging from the planet's core. However, upon further investigation, they had concluded that this was no ordinary gem...

This was a  _diamond."_

White Diamond was smirking, her eyes closed. Her Pearl was smiling as well.

"My Diamond? What should we do about this?" Calcite had asked.

"We do nothing, Calcite. The only thing to do is bring this Diamond to Homeworld." White Diamond had told her.

"How will we convince her to come, My Diamond?" Calcite had curiously asked.

"We?" White Diamond questioned. "Did you really think I had nothing to do with her creation? It was meant to be a secret. No one was supposed to find out except Corundum, Pearl and I."

"So, unfortunately, I have to do  _this._ " White Diamond had said before stabbing Calcite, poofing her instantly.

She then proceeded to crush the gem in her hands, shattering the Calcite.

"Now, what shall I do to those Agates?" She then wondered.

\---

The gem that had just emerged stared up into space.

She wanted to leave the dull colony; wanted to interact with others; wanted to go be free.

What was her purpose in life? She didn't know.

"Excuse me?" A voice behind her had asked.

She jumped back in surprise. What she saw was a smaller gem with gray hair in buns, a black top with gray sleeves, a gemstone on its naval, gray tights, a clear skirt and white shoes.

The diamond noticed something about this gem. Her left eye was missing, cracks in its place. This made her terrified.

"Is something the matter?" She had asked the diamond.

"Your eye." The diamond responded. "What happened to it?"

"My eye? It's a long story. Come with me to Homeworld, dear. White Diamond will be very pleased with your presence." The gem had told her.

"Homeworld? White Diamond?"

"All will be explained when we get there. Take my hand, I'll take you there." The gem had told her, reaching for the diamond's hand.

The diamond hesitantly took her hand, but when she did, she saw a vision.

The gem in front of her was the same, except her hair, clothes and gem were pink in hue and she had her left eye.

The diamond's eyes widened.

"When did you change colors?!" She asked the gem.

"Change colors? Surely, you must be seeing things." The gem responded. She was her current colors again, and the eye was missing once again.

It was strange, indeed. Almost as strange as the way they were travelling to Homeworld; through a white bubble.

"Are you nervous to see White Diamond?" The gem had asked the diamond.

"Maybe a little." The diamond responded.

"She is nothing to worry about, little one." The diamond merely laughed at this statement. Little one? She was taller than the gem that stood next to her. "I assure you, White Diamond is the kindest of all Diamonds."

"I have a question. Why did White want me of all gems?" The diamond had asked.

"On Homeworld, there reigned four Diamonds: White, Yellow, Blue and Pink. The most inferior, Pink, had set her sights on the planet Earth for her first colony. That was a big mistake, as a Rose Quartz serving under her had shattered her for wanting to colonize it." The gem had explained.

"Shattered? Is it even possible to shatter  a diamond?" The diamond had asked.

"No, it is not." The gem responded.

"Didn't you just now say that a Rose Quartz shattered her?"

"Yes, I did."

This confused the diamond greatly.

"On a less confusing note, what's your name? I don't recall you telling me."

The gem smiled.

"You may refer to me as Pearl. I am the personal Pearl of White Diamond. The other Pearls commonly refer to me as White Pearl to avoid confusion."

" _Personal_ Pearl?" The diamond had asked Pearl. "What do you mean by that?"

"On Homeworld, Pearls serve one purpose and one purpose only: to serve their owners. Usually, they have the same gem placement and color as their owners; with some exceptions." Pearl had explained.

"So, do you look like White Diamond?"

"Oh, stars no! My appearance is oh, so inferior to White Diamond's glorious image." Pearl had corrected her.

' _I can't tell if that's a biased opinion or not...' The_ _diamond_ _thought to herself._

The bubble had popped; meaning the diamond could finally see her location.

She was in a dull looking place. The walls were dark gray, the floor was white, there was a glow emitting from an unknown source.

The source wouldn't be unknown for long.

"There you are, dear! I've been waiting for you to emerge for a century! How was my Pearl's company?" The figure had asked, but in an empty tone.

This gem was a sight to behold. She was literally glowing white, had mascara and black lipstick, painted nails on both hands and feet, a cape full of stars, and pointed hair. She had her gem on her forehead; a very similar one to the one the newest diamond had bore on her chest. She was also  _ver_ y tall; she stood at a height of 50 feet.

The realization hit her: ' _This is White Diamond.'_

 _"_ Was she any trouble?" White Diamond asked her creation.

"No, not at all."

"Okay, good. On that note, I never gave you an official name, did I?" White Diamond responded.

"An offi-?"

"Yes, yes. How about Hope Diamond? Dark Blue Diamond doesn't really roll off the tongue. Besides, we already have a Blue Diamond in the authority." White had interrupted her.

She was taken aback by the sudden response. Does she have any decency to let her finish?

But, she did like the name.

"Yes, Hope Diamond it is." White Diamond said, not even bothering to wait for her creation to agree.

Hope had looked around, trying to keep her mind off the unsettling being that was White Diamond. She saw another gem that was shorter than Pearl, only standing at about 4 feet tall. She had 4 pointed white hair, gray skin, a white gem on her forehead, and a white dress. She could not put her gem on it, but there was something different about the gem than Pearl and her Diamond.

"Uh, hi. I don't think we have met." Hope had told the gem.

"We have not, Hope Diamond." the gem responded to her.

"What's your name?" Hope asked.

"Corundum. White Corundum as others call me." Corundum had responded.

"My, aren't we chatty? Already talking to gems inferior to you, aren't we?" White Diamond had said in response to the conversation.

"I apologize, My Diamond." Corundum had said, lowering her head in shame while doing a gesture with her hands, both forming into a diamond shape.

"I will  _consider_ accepting." White Diamond had told her. "As for you, Comet; you should refrain from talking to gems inferior to you. They can do terrible things to your behavior." White had lectured Hope.

' _Comet?'_ Hope thought to herself, wondering where White got the name from.

"Don't you worry, I will protect you from these imperfections so that they shall not taint your true destiny." White had assured her.

"I'm confused, what would these gems even do to taint it?" Hope had asked.

"Oh, it's very simple, Comet." White Diamond had said.

Before Hope knew it, White grabbed her with one of her giant hands; trapping her inside her grip.

"They could do something like  **this.** " White Diamond had said ominously.

She increased the pressure on her grip, causing Hope massive pain.

_POOF!_

"See you on the flip side, Comet..." White Diamond had told the dark blue diamond she held in between her fingernails.

White Diamond said one last thing to no one in particular:

" _Oh, Starlight, you better watch your back."_

 

_ To be continued... _


	3. The Gift of a Diamond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope is presented with a gift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first 9 chapters were originally posted on Wattpad. Chapter 10 and onward will be released on both platforms simultaneously.
> 
> UPDATE V2: Updated certain lines to align with the newly revealed "Steven Universe: The Movie" and SDCC information on the creation of Pearls.

_Homeworld's Aquariums:_

On Homeworld, Aquariums are used not to shelter aquatic life, but a certain type of gem. Abalones.

Abalones have one purpose and one purpose only: to make Pearls for the upper class.

Abalones were partly organic, they have shells instead of gemstones and they come from the oceans of their colonies. They were as low as a Pearl on Homeworld's caste system. The "lucky" Abalones get to make Pearls belonging to Diamonds. White Diamond was also partially responsible for their creation, giving them life while the Abalones formed the Pearls out of nacre.

Violet Abalone was sitting on her throne-like chair, her creations by her side; Pearls that were purple and pink in hue. She was greatly unamused with her situation, she had four orders of Pearls to fulfill. When she was uninspired, she hated working on new "daughters".

The transceiver rang, signifying a call from a gem.

"Orchid, answer the call for me, would you?"

"Right away, My Abalone." Orchid Pearl had responded.

She tapped on the console.

"Call is answered, My Abalone, audios only."

"Violet Abalone, I assume?" The voice on the other line had spoken.

The Abalone had recognized that voice.

"White Diamond?"

"Yes, must I clarify everything for you,  _organic scum?_ "

"My apologies, My Diamond. What is the pur-"

"The only purpose I have for calling you is to do your pathetic job. Create a Pearl for me. I don't care what color you make her, just make her absolutely perfect. No defects, that's an order. Fail this and you will be shattered on the spot."

The transmission had ended.

\---

 _An_ _unknown_ _place_ _,_ _about_ _5 days later:_

Hope Diamond's gem began to shine, floating in the air while doing so. When it was finished, Hope had fully regenerated her form.

She had been in a place she did not recognize. The walls were completely white with columns on every corner, unaccessed consoles were laid out across the room, and there was a lift in the middle of the room.

She remembered that White Diamond was the one to damage her form.

' _She must have dropped me off in here.'_  She concluded.

She wanted to get out of there.

Hope concluded that the lift would take her to where she wanted. She stepped on it, and up it went.

When she got up, she was in the back of White Diamond's ship.

"... and I don't care how long it takes to track them all down. Shatter the entire cut of gems or I shatter you." White Diamond was talking to a gem Hope did not recognize.

"All shall be as you command, My Diamond." The gem said.

"That will be all, Spinel." White Diamond had told her. Spinel left in an instant.

"Oh, Comet! You have finally reformed!"

Hope gave her a look.

"I was only teaching you the importance of only interacting with gems that will help you, not hurt you. One wrong move and you go through that once again." White Diamond had explained.

It was around when she said this that Hope noticed something. White Diamond and her Pearl were present in the ship, but one gem was missing.

"White, if you don't mind me asking, where is Corundum? Isn't she usually here with you and Pearl?" Hope had asked the Diamond.

"Oh! Corundum is terribly overwhelmed with work, so I let her off on a break. I'm sure she will return eventually."

"A break?"

"Yes. Now, that room you reformed in? You will be staying in there until further notice. You can access it from the back."

"So, is it technically my room now?" Hope had asked.

"Temporarily."

"Good enough."

\---

Hope had explored her new room, trying to find out the functions of everything in there. She found some records from the gems' history, colony information and so on.

What really caught her attention was the hologram of a colony she found. She surrounded it with her hands, finding it satisfying for a reason she could not identify.

She then remembered something: the vision that came up when holding Pearl's hand.

What was that? Was it normal?

"Comet! There you are." White Diamond had said behind her back. "I have a gift for you."

She held a massive clamshell in her hands.

"Open it." White had said.

Hope had opened it. What she saw, she did not expect.

It was a gem. An oval shaped cabochon gemstone. It was bubblegum-pink in color, a white band in the middle.

"Go ahead, Comet. Touch it." White smiled.

Hope did so. Afterwards, the gem began to glow, hovering above Hope. A holographic clamshell formed around the gem.

"Is this normal?" Hope asked White Diamond.

"Please identify yourself." A voice coming from the gemstone ordered.

"...Hope Diamond." Hope said, a bit confused.

"Greetings, Hope Diamond. Please state preferred customization options."

"Preferred customization options?" Hope was thoroughly confused.

"Assistance mode initiated. Customization options allow you to customize the appearance of your new Pearl. Options such as form color, appearance and gem placement may be selected at your leisure. If unsure of customization options, default settings may be selected."

A Pearl? Her own Pearl?

Now she was excited.

"Well, I would like…"

 

\---

 

After Hope spent approximately ten minutes setting customization options, she was finally ready to see the result of her Pearl.

"Finished."

"Customization options selected. Please standby."

The gemstone hovered to a clear spot in the room. The holographic clamshell descended slowly to the floor, opening once it had fully descended. It revealed a reforming Pearl, her bubblegum-pink gem on her left arm, as Hope specified. She stopped glowing, sporting an appearance based on the selected customization options. She had light-pink skin, fluffy bubblegum-pink hair with streaks of lavender that reached down to the back of her chest, a bubblegum-pink bodysuit with sheer pink long sleeves, dark-pink stockings and pink flats.

She was perfect.

"Welcome to your new Pearl, My Hope Diamond. I am at your eternal service, My Diamond.  She smiled, bowing to Hope.

"This Pearl will guide you on being a Diamond. She is the only gem you are allowed to talk to besides me and my Pearl, understand?" White had clarified.

"I understand." Hope responded to her.

Hope held her new Pearl in her arms. The Pearl warmly smiled in response.

"My own Pearl! Thank you White!" Hope had said, hugging her Pearl.

White had stopped in her tracks.

\---

 **_"I get my_ ** **_own_ ** **_Pearl?! She's so pretty! Thank you, Yellow, Blue, White!" The owner of the_ ** **_voice_ ** **_said, holding the Pearl._ **

\---

"White?" Hope had asked the larger Diamond, checking on her.

"It's nothing. Please, just do that when I'm not here." White had said. "Also, I have another surprise for you. Corundum came back to see you! She's in the passage right there."

"Corundum?!" Hope was excited.

White Diamond had left the room.

"Oh, Pearl, I have to introduce you!" Hope said, opening the passage door. "This is Corundum, my frie-".

They both stopped dead in their tracks.

What they saw was not the physical form of Corundum, but a bubble.

A bubble full of white gem shards.

"No...no way! She didn't.... she wouldn't...." Hope was in horror of what happened.

Corundum was shattered.

 

_ To be continued... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to take a moment to give a shoutout to 24cr and pearlrights (creators of Nacreous Clouds, a fanfiction here on AO3) for inspiring me to create my own Abalone, a type of "gem" that creates Pearls. Please check out Nacreous Clouds here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18102311/chapters/42792509. Thank you both for being an inspiration to me!


	4. Hope and Pearl: A Day Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and Pearl go out on an excursion after their meeting anniversary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first 9 chapters were originally posted on Wattpad. Chapter 10 and onward will be released on both platforms simultaneously.

"My Diamond, are you alright? Do you need comfort?" Pearl had asked Hope.

"No, no... I'm fine... just need a moment of silence." Hope said, holding the bubble of shards.

Pearl stayed silent.

Hope proceeded to place the bubble in the corner of the room. She wanted the shards there as a reminder to herself:

Never trust White Diamond on her word alone.

It was strange; Hope barely knew Corundum, but she was still extremely depressed about the situation.

Perhaps it was because Corundum was one of the only gems she met that weren't so... creepy.

"My Diamond, is there anything I can assist you with?" Pearl broke the silence.

Only because she was curious, Hope requested the following:

"Show me records of Pink Diamond's past role on Homeworld."

"Yes, My Diamond." Pearl had said, while pulling out a screen from her gem on her left arm.

"An excerpt from the Diamond Archive: 'Pink Diamond had frequently thrown balls to celebrate accomplishments her fellow Diamonds had achieved. However, most of the time these balls would end in disaster; Pink Diamond was the most reckless of the Diamonds, and thus had done the most unheard of things in the ballroom."

Hope had suddenly gotten intrigued.

"Every time she misbehaved, she was thrown into a dark tower to think about what she had done. However, she hadn't stopped doing these things, and so White Diamond had to take action. She took away her coveted Pearl and replaced her with a new Pearl.

Pink Diamond's behavior had grown slightly more tolerable. Just slightly. She had gained her own colony several thousands of years later, however, a rebellion had started in the colony. This caused her to involve her fellow Diamonds in the conflict that would eventually form into the Infamous Gem War."

"You can skip the fighting, Pearl." Hope had told her.

"Of course, My Diamond. She was then shattered by a Rose Quartz in the presence of several members of her court. End of records."

"So she was a stubborn party girl..." Hope had told herself. "No wonder White was all up on keeping me 'safe'."

"I assure you, My Diamond, White Diamond will let you explore the outside world eventually."

\---

_About_ _585 years later, Hope Diamond's Room:_

Bubblegum Pearl was checking for new information on the Diamonds. She wanted her Diamond to be proud of her findings, as Hope had never met Blue or Yellow Diamond.

"Who even organizes these records anyway?" She said in frustration.

"Pearl!"

Pearl had jumped back, taken by surprise.

"You look lovely today, My Diamond."

"Yeah, that's what you say to me every single morning. Guess what day it is?"

"The day they finally let you outside?"

"Pfft, no. It's the anniversary of the day we first met."

"Oh, my apologies for not remembering, My Diamond." Pearl had said.

"It's completely fine, Pearl! I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise for me?" Pearl was legitimately curious.

"For this day, I will give you anything you want. Anything you can think of." Hope had told her.

"Doesn't that ruin the purpose of Pearls?"

"Yeah, it kind of does. But it's only for one day, Pearl! One day can't hurt, can it?"

"....I suppose not, My Diamond."

"Then, what is it that you want? It could be anything!"

Pearl thought for a moment, finally settling on what she believed was her greatest wish.

"I want your freedom." She told Hope.

"No! Don't think about me. This day is about you. Think about what  _yo_ u want. Not me, you." Hope had told her, realizing what she said came out a bit harsh. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Please, think of something  _yo_ u want."

Pearl had to think for about 3 minutes before coming up with her answer.

"I.... want to see the outside world."

Hope Diamond smiled wide.

"So it shall be yours."

"But, My Diamond, how will we sneak outside?"

"I have a plan. Follow me."

Hope and her Pearl hid in the passage door.

"Wanna see something really cool?" Hope asked Pearl.

"It would be nice, My Diamond."

She then proceeded to shapeshift.  
  


       

"Do you like it? I learned it myself. Call me Aqua Aura Quartz while I look like this."

Hope had shrunk to about 8 feet in height, her skin was the same color, but her hair was now white and reached to her knees. Her gem was turned to look like a normal quartz gem and her diamond pupils were gone.

"You look lovely, my Diamond." Pearl had complimented her.

"Nonono! I'm a  _quart_ z, remember?"

"Right, sorry My....Quartz." Pearl had corrected herself. She felt odd saying the words "My Quartz".

"You should really change your form too, Pearl."

"Alright..."

\---

The two were frightened to do this, as they hadn't interacted with any gems in the centuries they were on Homeworld, and they were afraid of standing out too much. Pearl kept her hands clasped together in her nervousness, and "Aqua" was excited, yet terrified. She would finally go out and explore the world, but not as herself.

Hesitating, Aqua pressed the button to open the door and headed out, taking Pearl with her.

\---

The halls had eyes. Literally.

Aqua tried not to make any eye contact with the live walls in the hall, but it was too creepy to ignore. Pearl was unnerved; Aqua had to hold her hand to keep her going.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of getting lost, they had reached the exit.

"Take my hand, Pearl."

Pearl followed suit, and Aqua used her levitation abilities to fly to the top of a building.

For the first time, they both saw the outside of Homeworld. Its pink sky, multiple buildings, unending fall to the ground, it was.... underwhelming. Sure, Aqua was excited. But for about 30 seconds before becoming bored of the scenery. A thought then came to her:

' _Would going to another_ _planet_ _be more exciting?'_  

She toyed with the idea for a bit, coming up with several ways that her and her Pearl could escape Homeworld and just live their own lives somewhere else. But, she had one glaring issue with the idea to face:  _she had no access to a ship of any kind._ Of course, she could ask White Diamond, but there is no way she would agree to that.

She thought for a few moments before finally saying something.

"Pearl?"

"Yes, My Dia-Quartz?" Pearl quickly corrected herself.

"How would you feel about... a little change in environment?"

"Change in environment? Are you considering-?!"

"Leaving Homeworld? Yes. Keep it quiet, other gems might hear us and attempt to shatter us on the spot."

"What planet are you considering, My Quartz?" Pearl had asked, curious to hear her Diamond's ideas.

Truth be told, Hope had not considered a possibility. The only planet she knew that wasn't Homeworld was the wasteland she was made in, Saturn. And that was no pretty sight either. It was silent, but crawling with Agates.

She definitely needed to find options, because as it looks right now, White Diamond wouldn't trust her going out in the world for another 15,000 years or if she was accepted into the authority. Whichever came first.

And being accepted into the diamond authority wasn't exactly something Hope was looking forward to.

"I... honestly have no idea, Pearl. All I've ever known besides Homeworld was Saturn, and it's not a very good option for living on the run." Aqua had finally responded to Pearl's question.

"Not to worry, My Quartz. I shall assist you in finding the appropriate planet." Pearl had responded, bowing in curtsy.

This made Aqua giggle a bit.

"You're funny sometimes, you know that, Pearl?" She told her.

"I am?"

"Heh..." Aqua laughed a bit at Pearl's confusion. "We should really go back, White is going to have a panic attack if she finds us missing."

"Yes, My Quartz."

\---

The halls seemed less confusing the second time. Aqua and Pearl could actually tell where they were going the second time. Even though Pearl didn't need the emotional support, Aqua still held her hand.

"Alright, this is it." Hope shapeshifted back into her default form.

After opening the doors, she saw something that made her and Pearl jump back.

A gem, about 12 feet tall, with four arms, three (four?) eyes and a violet hue stood there. She had a gem on her stomach, right arm, and head.

What she was holding caught Hope's attention, the bubble holding the long-dead Corundum's shards.

"Ah! S-stay back! You don't know who you're dealing with!" She said, constantly shivering.

       

Pearl had looked visibly uncomfortable.

"A cross-gem fusion..."

 

 

_To be_ _continued_ _..._


	5. And Then There Were Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fusion tells their story to Hope and Pearl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first 9 chapters were originally posted on Wattpad. Chapter 10 and onward will be released on both platforms simultaneously.
> 
> UPDATE V1.5: Switched the Spinel Gems for obvious reasons.

"Cross-gem fusion?" Hope was confused.

She has heard of the concept of fusion, but absolutely  _ no _ t the concept of "cross-gem fusion". Whatever it was.

"I should clarify. Cross-gem fusions are fusions of two or more different types of gems. They're  _ very  _ inappropriate to form." Pearl had explained to Hope.

"But why?"

"Why? Just look at her! She's a mess!" Pearl had stated her opinion. She then realized she just committed one of the taboos of being a Pearl, letting their opinions be known without being asked.

"My sincerest apologies, My Diamond! Please, forgive me!" Pearl had  _ begged  _ for forgiveness. If White Diamond found out, she'd be shattered for sure.

"Diamond???" The fusion had curiously asked. She then noticed her gem cut.

"Great job, Yellow! You led us to a Diamond!"

"This is no Diamond I've ever heard of."

"Cut it out, both of you! Let's get White out of here!"

This was all the fusion talking to herself. Her components arguing.

And then she came apart.

Three Corundums, one colored yellow, one cyan, and one pink. They were the components of the fusion.

"See?! This is why we should've never brought Pink!" The cyan one said.

"It's not her fault, she was startled." The yellow one replied.

"This is just perfect! Now we're going to get shattered for not one, but  _ two  _ reasons!"

"Um... can you three explain something to me?" Hope had asked them. "How did you get here, what were you doing here, and why are you going to get shattered?"

"Why should we listen to  _ your  _ demands, ungrateful pebble?" The cyan one insulted Hope.

Pearl had stepped in their field of vision. She had an angry look on her face.

" _ Listen to her, or White Diamond hears about this whole incident. I can easily make your future look very bleak. Do not cross us."  _ Pearl had coldly said.

Hope did not expect this from Pearl. Usually she didn't do things like  _ this. _

"Alright, we'll talk! Yellow, tell her." The pink one had said, clearly afraid.

"Wait, you actually believe this nonsense?" The cyan one had replied to her.

Yellow Corundum had touched Cyan's cheek with her hand.

"Please calm down, love. She seems much more reasonable than the other Diamonds would be. Clueless, even. Don't blame Pink for this, none of it is her fault. She just wanted White back." She had told her.

Cyan had blushed a bit.

"Fine. Tell them everything."

\---

_ The Diamonds' Palace, about 585 years ago: _

White, Yellow and Blue Diamond had been in a meeting concerning the dwindling resources on Homeworld. In the outside of the room stand three Corundums: White, Yellow and Cyan.

"Did you miss me~?" Cyan had said to Yellow, teasingly.

"Cyan, it's only been about two weeks. We see each other almost all the time. But I'll always miss you." Yellow had replied.

"Please, stop with the affection this early. It's improper." White had told them.

"Oh, I forgot we had the buzzkill with us." Cyan had told Yellow.

"The buzzkill?" White asked her.

"It's not White's fault. She was programmed with that mindset."

"Still."

" _ Well, look who decided to start the lovey dovey stuff without me!" _

All three froze when they heard that voice.

It was a voice they hadn't heard in a long time. They assumed the owner of that voice to be dead.

"Pink?!" Yellow had said, surprised. "But how? You were on Earth! The Diamond Attack didn't destroy you?"

"I escaped right before they launched it. Barely." Pink Corundum had explained. "The elites who found me took me in until they would find a new purpose for me. They let me go a while back."

"I tried to find you after the shattering, to take you with me. But you were no where in sight. Where were you a day after the shattering?" Yellow had asked her.

"Well, I was mourning the loss of my Diamond inside the palanquin. After I was done, some Quartzes from the rebellion kidnapped me and destroyed my physical form. After I reformed, they presented me to Rose Quartz herself.

'Corundum, please. I know you're upset about what we did to your Diamond, but that doesn't mean you can't trust us with your future. Earth holds many wonders that you would be fond of. Join us, and you could be a part of the planet's legacy.' She told me. It was as if she knew me for a long time.

I declined her offer, of course. She was the reason Pink Diamond was dead. Oddly enough, she let me go. Didn't try to attack me."

"You were kidnapped? Did you see their hideout?" Cyan had asked.

"No. They took me to a secluded area, not their base." Pink said. She then turned to White.

"How's Pearl? Is she still-?"

"Yes. My Diamond still has no intent on releasing her." White replied.

" _ She would be so disappointed..."  _ Pink had said to herself.

All of a sudden, a group of Howlite had ran into the area. They all had their weapons out.

One had spoken:

"Grab the White one."

One Howlite had held White Corundum.

"I demand to know the meaning of this!"

"Don't worry, shorty. It's nothing personal, just a recall on the entire cut of Corundum. All of their shards are to be delivered to White Diamond."

The Corundums soon realized something.

Howlite gems were  _ assassins. _ The person who hired them was White Diamond. Their target was all the Corundums on Homeworld and every other colony.

"Get out of here!" White Corundum had yelled to the other three.

Cyan and Yellow then fused into Seafoam Corundum. The Howlite were stunned by their targets' sudden fusion.

"We're not leaving you, White. Leave this to us. Pink, get behind me."

Pink followed suit.

A shock of electricity ran through Seafoam's two arms. Her three eyes had a look of determination.

"Disgraceful. To defy the order of the Diamonds when you used to serve them directly. I don't have time for this. 3DR, 3DQ, get them. I'm looking for other Corundums. 3DL, shatter that Corundum in your arms."

Seafoam then blasted the Howlite. She then held her in her grip.

"I have a hostage. You kill that Corundum, I kill  _ her. _ "

The two Howlites stood there for a moment.

"Shatter her." The leader ordered the one with the hostage.

3DL had held out her dagger and stabbed White Corundum in the gem, shattering her. Seafoam had blasted Red too late.

"Oh, White, no!" Pink had cried behind Seafoam.

"Damn it! Damn it all! You're gonna regret that!" Seafoam had yelled in anger. It was at this moment she really wished Corundums had weapons.

She turned her hands into fists made of ice and directly punched the other Howlites in their gems, shattering them both. She then remembered the one she held hostage.

"You'll be stunned for quite a while, while we wait for it to wear off, mind telling us what White Diamond plans to do with our shards?"

"Like I would talk to a bunch of traitors." The Howlite simply retorted.

Seafoam then showed her icy fists for intimidation.

"Fine, she plans on using them to make more Rubies and Sapphires. Your cut, the Rubies' cut and the Sapphires' cut are all made of the same material resources. It would be a temporary solution for producing more Rubies and Sapphires."

"So she wants to use our remains to make more gems? Disgusting."

"Yeah, such a shame." She said.

She then got up, grabbed White Corundum's shards, and ran out of there; not even bothering to shatter any of the other Corundum present.

Seafoam then unfused back into Cyan and Yellow Corundum.

Yellow was crying from her remaining eye.

Cyan was enraged.

Pink was in shock.

They just lost one of their best friends.

\---

Yellow Corundum had finished projecting the memory to the Diamond and Pearl that stood in front of them.

Hope was visibly in shock.

"Is that what happened to her?"

"It's what happened to all of us. We're the only ones left." Pink Corundum had told her.

"Did you know Pink Diamond personally?"

"Yes, of course I did. She was my everything, one of my closest confidants along with her first Pearl. Now, well, it's just me left out of all of us."

Hope was curious about that statement.

"What do you mean by her 'first Pearl'?"

"Did you not know? Pink Diamond had two Pearls in her time as a Diamond. The first one was taken away by White Diamond, and so she made Pink a new one."

Hope then remembered something from the first day she emerged.

\---

**_"All will be explained when we get there. Take my hand, I'll take you there." The gem had told her, reaching for the diamond's hand._ **

**_The diamond hesitantly took her hand, but when she did, she saw a vision._ **

**_The gem in front of her was the same, except her hair, clothes and gem were pink in hue and she had her left eye._ **

**_The diamond's eyes widened._ **

**_"When did you change colors?!" She asked the gem._ **

**_"Change colors? Surely, you must be seeing things." The gem responded. She was her current colors again, and the eye was missing once again._ **

\---

The realization hit her.

No wonder why White Pearl was so off, she wasn't White at all. White Diamond had influenced her somehow.

It was a part of her powers. What exactly were her powers? She had no idea.

"My Diamond? What should we do with them? Surely, if  _ anyone  _ was to find out they are here, they would be shattered to make new gems." Pearl had questioned her Diamond on the matter.

An idea struck in Hope's mind.

"So, do any of you know any particular planet that has excellent scenery?"

The three looked confused.

"You know, unfinished colonies, moons, planets the Diamonds haven't taken possession of yet?"

"...."

"I know of one." Yellow Corundum had finally said.

"I'm listening."

"The moon of Venemi 7. That moon is thriving with organic life. It was one of Yellow Diamond's first colonies. I was there with her when she started colonization plans over 17,000 years ago."

This intrigued Hope greatly, she held her Pearl as Yellow informed them of the Moon.

"Alright, so here's the deal. I will let you three stay in the passageway of this room, but you have to help us get to that moon. If you do that, I'll let you three come with me and Pearl and we will live our peaceful life there, deal?"

The three discussed this matter briefly, then came to a consensus.

"It's a deal." Pink had told Hope.

"Tell us, how will we get there?" Pearl had asked the Corundums.

"We will have to steal a ship from the shipyard." Cyan Corundum had started. "And not just a cheap old Roaming Eye or Warship. An Emerald's ship."

"That's preposterous! Those ships are the most heavily guarded. Why an Emerald's ship anyway?"

"Almost every Homeworld ship can be tracked by the Diamonds on their every activity. Emeralds are  _ very  _ high ranking gems. The Diamonds trust them to pilot their ships without any delay. We don't want any of the Diamonds to find us." Yellow Corundum had explained to Pearl.

"Pearl, I think we should do it." Hope said, nodding her head after. "It's worth it if that's all it takes for us to live our lives to the fullest."

Pearl blushed a bit, imagining life alone with her Diamond.

"Alright, as you wish, My Diamond. We will depart at dawn."

\---

In the passageway, the Corundums had a disagreement.

"Are you sure we can trust her? She's a Diamond! They're all dishonest heaps of rocks!" Cyan had argued.

"Not all of them.  _ She  _ wasn't like the others." Pink had told her.

"Well  _ she's  _ gone now! We can't trust this new one to keep our existence secret. We're just here because we have nowhere better to be."

" _ I  _ trust she will be different."

"But, Yellow-!"

"If she was like any of the others, she would have shattered us where we stood as soon as we unfused."

"But her Pearl threatened to report us-!"

"Only because  _ yo _ u provoked her to."

Cyan stood quiet.

"I'm only going to say this one and then never again: I trust her with our fate. If you disagree, you think of something better we can do besides stay with her and her Pearl."

That ended their argument.

"Now, help me come up with a plan to storm the shipyard."

The other two hesitated for a moment. They then decided to help her.

The plan would go into motion tomorrow.

 

**_To be continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's only been about three weeks since this was written and I already hate how I wrote it, expect better writing skills later in the story.


	6. Infiltration of the Shipyard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team enact their plan to steal a ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first 9 chapters were originally posted on Wattpad. Chapter 10 and onward will be released on both platforms simultaneously.
> 
> UPDATE V2: Updated certain lines to match the newly revealed "Steven Universe: The Movie" and SDCC information on the creation of Pearls.

_Hope Diamond's Room, Dawn of the Next Morning:_

"Alright, here's the plan, listen up and listen up good because I'm not repeating this for a second time." Cyan Corundum had started. "You, Diamond! Your name."

"Um... Hope Diamond."

"...Hope Diamond, you and your Pearl will act as if you are a newly commissioned guard to protect the ship. Start small talk with the other Quartzes, that will distract them. Yellow, Pink and I will fuse into Violet Corundum and use our illusion ability to send them into a trance. That's your cue to get into the ship. The access panel will let you in since you are a diamond. After that, we get in and set the coordinates. Then we will be done!"

"Any questions?" Yellow Corundum had asked Hope and Pearl.

"How can we be  _absolutely_  sure that this will work?" Pearl had spoken out.

Yellow stayed silent for a moment before speaking in a hushed voice.

"Because.... I know how Yellow Diamond arranges guards for her Emeralds' ships. They are mostly guarded by Citrines and Lemon Quartzes."

"But how?"

"Have you not been paying attention? I see you aren't too wary of details for a servant meant to advise your Diamond. I used to serve Yellow Diamond directly. I planned her early colonies, arranged her armies in the best possible arrangement, et cetera. It's what Corundums do. Of course you wouldn't know that, sheltered Pearl."

This set Pearl off.

"I'll show YOU A SHELTERED PEARL YOU LITTLE-"

Pearl was about to grab Yellow Corundum, but Hope stopped her.

"Pearl, it's alright. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

Pearl was still angry, but set her anger aside for a bit. Her Diamond was assuring her, that was enough to calm her down.

Pink Corundum whispered to Pearl.

"It's okay, she does this to almost every gem she comes in contact with. Even Cyan when they first met. That's Yellow Corundum for you."

Pearl simply huffed.

"Any other questions?" Cyan had asked the rest of the gems.

The room stayed silent.

"Alrighty then, let's go. No turning back now."

\---

_The Shipyard:_

Hope had already shapeshifted into her persona, Aqua Aura Quartz. The three Corundums were with her and Pearl, giving them guidance before the plan was put into action.

The Citrines and Lemon Quartzes all had their weapons out in case of a sudden threat. After the rebellion they took no risks.

Cyan took notice of this. She wondered something.

"Hey, do you even have a weapon?"

Truth be told, Hope never even thought in her near 600 years of life that she would even have a weapon. She felt like she had no need for it; she was always protected by White. Well, not protected; more like sheltered.

"I don't know." She finally said.

"Good enough. Try to summon it."

"H-how do you even do that?"

"I don't know. I don't have a weapon. Just my ability to turn anything into ice."

Aqua only thought of one word over and over in an attempt to summon her weapon.

" _Weapon, weapon, weapon, weapon."_

It did not work.

"We don't have enough time for that! Go now. Take the Pearl with you. We'll be watching you."

And they all left without a trace.

"My Diamond, let's just go back. These gems aren't trustworthy- it's too high of a risk." Pearl had tried to convince Aqua.

Aqua stared at her.

"Unfortunately, Pearl, your Diamond is gone. I'm Aqua Aura Quartz, and I say we're doing this no matter what."

Pearl took a minute of staring blankly before saying anything.

"....As you wish." She finally said.

"Let's head out there. The guards are waiting for our arrival."

\---

The Citrines and Lemon Quartzes were on guard, watching carefully for any gems that were to approach. The only gems they would let touch the ship were the Emerald that owned it and her crew.

They saw a gem in the distance. They stood their guard, readying their weapons just in case.

"H-hey! I'm an Aqua Aura Quartz, a Quartz soldier just like you all. This is my Pearl, Bubblegum Pearl. We were sent by Blue Diamond to assist you all in guarding the ship."

They all looked at each other. They haven't heard of this, but whatever makes their jobs easier.

"Very well, stand near the front row over here. It will make your role much more prominent seeing as you have a Pearl. That means you  _must_ be good at combat." One of the Lemon Quartzes had said.

\---

Pearl shivered a lot, clearly being anxious about all of the possible safety hazards in the area. From the large amount of Quartzes (nearly one hundred of them), to the fact that the Emerald in charge might come and question them on their motive of being here.

They were not pleasant thoughts. None of them were.

Did Pearl's anxiety get the best of her? No.

Aqua was nervous only about one thing. One of the Quartzes possibly questioning about her lack of a weapon. She may have a weapon or she may not. It really was a 50/50 chance.

After all, a Diamond has never been seen summoning one.

A sudden thought came to her:

" _If the Diamonds did have weapons, Pink Diamond probably_ _wouldn't_ _have been shattered_ _right_ _away. She most likely would_ _have_ _fought back against Rose."_

She still held out hope.

She was told to be different, after all.

"Is something troubling you, My Quartz?" Pearl had asked her.

"I was just thinking about what Cyan Corundum had said back there. About the weapon. I'm not sure if I even have one, and if I did, what would it even be? Something cool? Something pathetic? And if I don't, how am I supposed to defend you guys in battle? How am I supposed to defend  _yo_ u? What good is a gem without a-!"

Pearl held her hand.

"That's enough. You are more than just a gem. You are  _everything_ to the future of gemkind. They just don't know it yet. Who cares if you don't have a weapon or fancy powers? They will love and accept you no matter what."

She whispered one last part.

" _You are their Diamond."_

Aqua stared at Pearl, surprised at what she said. The Pearl she knew wouldn't interrupt her. The Pearl she knew would only say a sentence of encouragement that would barely help the situation. The Pearl she knew wasn't so... inspiring.

Pearl had changed.

Aqua cried a bit, eventually turning into full on tears.

"Thank you, Pearl."

Aqua then suddenly hugged her. Pearl was shocked by the gesture at first. She then felt some sort of... warmth. She had never made her Diamond  _this_ happy before. She knew at the back of her mind that what Aqua is doing is practically blowing their cover, but she did not stop her.

She reciprocated the gesture, hugging her back.

They then did something that left all the gems present frozen.

\---

"Did they use the signal yet?" Cyan Corundum had asked Pink. She had grown bored of just standing around.

"No, it seems they're talking to each other." Pink had told Cyan.

"I just want to act as fast as possible. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can leave this place behind us forever."

"You know as well as I do that that's not possible. It will be practically impossible to forget about all of this. All of our friends, our Diamonds, the fact that White is gone." Yellow had told her.

"I know... I just don't want to stay here anymore."

"Wait, what are they doing?"

Both Cyan and Yellow looked at Pink when she said that.

"What are they doing?" Cyan had asked her.

"They're... hugging."

"N-no! They're totally blowing their cover! Step in now! Who cares about the damn signal any-!"

And then they saw it.

The glow.

\---

( _Pearl... where are_ _you_ _?)_

 _(Aqua,_ _I'm_ _right here. Where are you?)_

 _(You called me-! Wait..._ _this_ _feeling_ _...)_

_(Oh... no....)_

_(We.... we've...)_

The two gems were glowing, merging together in a mass of light. The glow had dissipated, and she was revealed.

A fusion.

She had indigo skin, wild hair that was a combination of blue and purple, mangled clothing, and two indigo gems. One on her lower chest, and one on her left arm. She also had four eyes. The top two resembled Pearl's, with pink irises. The bottom two resembled Aqua's, light blue irises and dark pupils.

The traits of a cross-gem fusion.

Different emotions could be seen on the Quartzes' faces. Disgust. Anger. Fear.

They all came to an agreement.

"Shatter her!"

As soon as the fusion heard that, she gained some sort of awareness of what was happening. The Quartzes all charged, preparing to aim for the gems.

Aqua Aura Quartz and Pearl were both afraid.

The fusion was not.

With one arm, she summoned a staff, with the other: what seemed to be the hilt of a sword. She combined the two, and the weapon turned into a massive sword with a crystalline blade. She wielded it as if it was all she had ever known.

She slashed it in the air multiple times, forming a diamond pattern. This pattern then took the form of a blast and blasted the Quartzes.

This instantly poofed the majority of them. Only about twelve remained on the field.

The Corundums came, fused into Violet Corundum.

"Sorry we missed most of the party, but we saw you take on those Quartzes. That was some skill."

The fusion paid no mind to her. Her mind was set on one thing and one thing only.

To eliminate the Quartzes who would dare end her existence. It was the only thing keeping her going.

"I've got the rest of them. You don't have to worry about them." Violet assured the fusion.

She didn't listen.

She ran forward, swinging her arm. This caused a beam to be fired out of the sword, poofing the rest of the gems.

"Or you could just do that."

"...Any remains of the guards?"

"Not that it seems."

"Marvelous." She made her sword disappear. "My work here is done."

She then unfused back into her components, Aqua Aura Quartz and Bubblegum Pearl.

They had no idea what just happened.

"Was that fusion? Is that what it feels like?" Aqua had questioned.

"I... believe so." Pearl had answered.

"Come on, let's get on the ship. We can discuss the beauty of fusion there." Violet told them, wanting to get this over with.

As they were approaching the entrance, a horde of Zebra Jaspers had blocked their path.

"You all are coming with us. No resistance, or you will regret it."

They all knew what must be done.

"Run!"

They all had attempted to lose the guards, once distracting them heading back to the palace.

The guards grabbed one of the gems. One of them stabbed a spear through her chest, poofing her instantly.

"Pearl, no!" Aqua had yelled, running to her, only to be stopped by Violet. She held Aqua in her top arms, running while doing so.

"Don't risk yourself."

"But she's  _Pearl_  for star's sake!"

The Zebra Jaspers gave up the chase.

They now had a hostage.

\---

 _Hope Diamond's Room, 5 hours_ _later_ _:_

Hope had been crying non-stop about her taken Pearl.

The Corundums kept telling her the same thing: "We will come back for her, promise."

Hope wasn't so sure they would have a chance to do so. The moment she stepped out in public as Aqua Aura Quartz again, she'd be captured and most likely kept at maximum security, meaning she couldn't get away with anything if she tried.

She was alone now, the Corundums were in the passage. Just in case.

She lost her one companion she had in her years of isolation from gem society.

She lost her best friend.

She kept thinking to herself: " _If we_ _hadn't_ _screwed up the_ _plan_ _, would things_ _have_ _turned out_ _differently_ _? Would we be on that moon we wanted to go to at this very_ _moment_ _? Would we have_ _been_ _discovered and captured either_ _way_ _?"_

Being away from Homeworld no longer appealed to Hope. Not while she's not here to run away with her.

Her thoughts were soon cut short by a white bubble that appeared before her.

This bubble dissipated to reveal White Pearl. Having that same blank smile she always had.

Hope thought back to her discovery. Poor Pearl... being forced against her will to be a puppet.

"Hope Diamond, White Diamond requires your presence." She had said.

Hope didn't even have time to react. She was already in a bubble, transporting her into White Diamond's ship.

\---

As soon as the bubble dissipated, White Diamond had seen the expression on Hope's face. A telling expression.

 _"_ Oh, Comet. What has gotten into you? You haven't your usual self all day, have you? What's the matter? Upset about the loss of your Pearl?"

Hope's eyes widened.

White was never informed of the Pearl's disappearance by her.

 _Sh_ e must have sent the Zebra Jaspers.

"Oh, poor Comet. Did you know your Pearl was a secret rebel? Cross-gem fusing, sneaking out, she did all of those. She was a bad influence on you anyway."

White then walked away and grabbed an object.

Hope recognized the object.

It was a giant clamshell.

"Luckily, I prepared for a situation like this and got you a brand new Pearl! She's much better for you, I promise."

White had opened the shell for her this time. A lone Pearl gemstone, periwinkle in color this time, in the interior of the shell.

"Go ahead, touch it. You already know what will happen." White assured her.

Hope did so, very hesitantly. The Pearl glowed, levitating into the air. A holographic clamshell formed around the gemstone. Hope felt a sense of deja vu, and not in a good way.

"Please identify yourself." The voice from within the Gem ordered. The voice was that of a Pearl, higher pitched than the Bubblegum Pink Pearl she was familiar with.

"Hope Diamond."

"Greetings, Hope Diamond. Please state preferred customization options."

"I don't care." Hope deadpanned.

"Default settings selected. Please standby." The Pearl hovered over to a clear spot, slowly descending to the floor. The holographic clamshell opened to reveal a reforming Pearl, rising up from said clamshell. Once she reformed, she stepped off the holographic clamshell. It then dissipated into nothing.

This Pearl looked drastically different from Bubblegum Pearl. Her periwinkle gem was on her chest, the same location as Hope's diamond. She had light blue skin, periwinkle hair, reaching behind her neck, a dark blue bodysuit with a diamond-cut neckline, a sheer light blue skirt that reached her thighs, and dark blue flats. Her eyes opened to reveal her dark blue colored irises.

She approached Hope with cupped hands. She was smiling nonstop, seemingly ecstatic to see her new owner.

"Hello, My Hope Diamond! Thank you for bringing me into the world. I am at your eternal service from here on out. Welcome to your new Pearl!" The Pearl bowed in front of her.

"There you are, Comet! Another Pearl to assist you. She's a marked improvement from your first Pearl if you ask me." White smiled reassuringly.

It wasn't the same.

 _She_  wasn't the same.

She needed to get Pearl back before they did the worst to her.

\---

_An unknown place:_

Pearl's gemstone had glowed. She then took form and landed back on the ground. She noticed that she was in a rather dark place.

A cell. She had been held prisoner.

As soon as she took note of this, two Gray Quartzes looked at her through the field that contained her.

"Look who finally decided to come back." One had said.

"Had fun being a rebel? Hope you're happy now; because of you, your little rebellion isn't going to stay active for long. At least not with you in it." The other had told her.

"What do you mean?" Pearl had asked the second one.

"We're holding you for ransom, toy. That Quartz's surrender for your safety. That's the bargain Lady Emerald plans on making to your owner. A pretty stupid one if you ask me, but she's an elite. We have to go with everything she says."

"She's  _not_ my owner, brutes. She is my partner. She does not own me." She argued.

"Yeah right, bet you a place in the elites that she replaced you already. Face it: you're just a Pearl. You're replaceable."

"Aqua would  _never_ replace me."

"Yeah, alright. We've wasted enough time talking to you. Have fun while you still can,  _toy._ "

"What's all this  _fus_ s about?" A new voice had spoken.

"N-nothing, Lady Emerald!" Both of them had told her.

"Ah-hah. Step aside while I talk to the hostage."

They both went back to their stations.

The Emerald had a wicked smile on her face.

"How does it feel, to fail in stealing my ship I mean." She sneered at Pearl.

Pearl did not answer, she continued to look at the Emerald.

"Even after going so far as to cross-fuse right in front of all the guards in order to render them defenseless, you still failed." She continued.

"It was  _not_ for that reason! It was unintentional!" She argued to her.

"My, aren't we chatty? Well, then. Let me ask you a question. Did you  _enjoy_ the experience of cross-gem fusion?"

She didn't know.

Pearl did not retain a lot of the memories she had from the battle. She was overwhelmed at the time. The fusion seemed to gain it's own sentience somehow. It was all a blur except for one part.

Aqua calling to her at every moment.

Pearl had slowly nodded her head.

"Yes, and I do not regret enjoying it."

"Hmph. Just be thankful I'm doing this. I'm sparing you at that Quartz's expense."

She then walked away.

She then prayed, saying only one thing in her mind:

" _Don't make_ _the_ _exchange, Hope."_  


_ To be continued... _


	7. Just a Pearl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aqua works to fix the mistake she made, Pearl attempts to escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first 9 chapters were originally posted on Wattpad. Chapter 10 and onward will be released on both platforms simultaneously.

_Hope Diamond's Room:_

This Pearl did not excite Hope the way Bubblegum did. She hadn't given the Pearl any commands yet; she was too depressed to even interact with her. She missed Pearl too much.  _Her_ Pearl.

"Is everything alright, My Diamond?"

Hope didn't answer. The voice sounded almost exactly like  _her_ Pearl's, but higher pitched. It made her upset. She wanted her Pearl back.

"Hey, Pearl?"

"Yes, My Diamond?"

"Stay here while I go in this passage. If White or her Pearl comes, tell them I'm busy."

Periwinkle Pearl simply looked in concern, then formed a diamond with her hands.

"All shall be as you command, My Diamond."

Hope walked into the passage.

Periwinkle Pearl wanted nothing more than to follow her Diamond in there, but it was part of her programming to do as she said.

She cursed the Abalone who decided that Pearls shouldn't have free will in that matter. She didn't know who that Abalone was, but she didn't care.

\---

"...And Pearl's probably dead by now! How will we retrieve her, by her shards?!"

"Calm down, Hope. We'll find out where she is being kept. If she is still alive, we'll find a way to get her out of there." Yellow Corundum had assured her.

"And how will we do that?"

"We go back to the shipyard. They'll recognize us as the same band of rebels from yesterday. You surrender yourself and we follow you in the shadows. Then, as soon as the guards escort you to the cell, right before they throw you in, we'll show up and beat them up. Then we can save her." Cyan Corundum had stated.

"There are so many holes in that plan that it's not even funny."

"It's the best I could come up with on the spot. I can't properly plan things without having time to think; and time is what we do not have."

"Wait, they're going to just throw me in there and you'll just be outside? That's preposterous! I need someone to help my nerves."

"Well, you have that Pearl, don't you?"

"But Pearl's in captivity-"

She then realized who she was talking about.

It would take a lot of convincing to get  _her_ in on this.

\---

An unknown place:

Pearl had finally been left alone by the Quartzes and their Emerald commander.

She was curled up in a corner, wondering about her fate.

" _If the stars did get my wish and Aqua doesn't_ _come_ _back for me, will_ _I_ _be shattered or kept here for the rest of my days?_ "

She didn't want Aqua to surrender herself, but she didn't want to stay here for all of eternity either. This feeling of isolation wasn't a pleasant one. She wanted to be free.

She then remembered something from her first and final battle, as that fusion:

_With one arm, she summoned a staff, with the other: what seemed to be the hilt of a sword. She combined the two, and the weapon turned into a massive sword with a crystalline blade. She wielded it as if it was all she had ever known._

She had a  _weapon!_ So did Aqua. The question now is which one had which weapon. She didn't care. All she cared about was a thought that was fact.

She could defend herself if she tried. That claim about Pearls not being built for fighting would be debunked a  _second_ time.

Now, all she had to do was summon this weapon. How? She had no idea.

She attempted to pull it out of her gem like one of her stored objects, but that failed.

She had to figure it out quickly. These guards probably didn't have much patience for a Pearl.

Pearl heard footsteps approaching her cell. She ceased all efforts to summon her weapon and just faced the corner.

These weren't the footsteps of a Quartz.

"Nice place you got here,  _slave._ Hope you plan on staying here. Because you have no other choice." It was the voice of a Ruby. "Captain Emerald really enjoys your company. Especially because she doesn't have a Pearl yet."

Pearl had guessed that this Ruby was a part of that Emerald's crew, due to the fact that she referred to her as "Captain Emerald".

"We may have failed to defeat Rose long ago, but we can prevent another case like that from happening again. You'll be our key to being one of the most famed ship crews on Homeworld."

"I just want to know one thing. Where is this place?" Pearl had asked her.

"As if I'd tell you." Ruby had told her, she then proceeded to summon her weapon from her hand gem: a dagger. "One wrong move and this plunges into your form."

"I see you're busy taunting the defect. Maybe you should make use of your time and come help us track down that Quartz and her fusion ally."

"SHUT UP, I WAS TRYING TO GET THAT INFO OUT OF HER. MAYBE YOU COULD DO BETTER, MOONSTONE!"

Smoke literally spewed out of her mouth when she said that. She had a fiery temper. Literally.

"This isn't over." She gave in, going over to her teammates.

They were after Aqua and Violet.

Pearl once again tried her hardest to summon her weapon.

\---

"Welcome back, My Diamond." Periwinkle Pearl welcomed Hope.

"Yep, that's me. Your Diamond. Hey, would you really do anything for me?"

"Of course."

"Alright, I'm going to show you something that you  _must_ keep a secret from everyone else."

"Yes, My Diamond. I won't tell a single gem."

"You better keep your word."

She then shapeshifted into Aqua Aura Quartz, but without the usual Quartz uniform. She had a blue blouse, white gloves, white skirt and white boots. There was a diamond shaped cut on her lower chest, where her gem was. She was done pretending to be an ordinary Quartz.

What she was now was more than just an ordinary Quartz. She was a Quartz who wanted respect and liberty.

"A Quartz form?"

"Yes, Pearl. I took this form to interact with other gems without being suspicious. I used it to my advantage and tried to steal a ship. But I failed. I lost.... a very dear friend of mine in the process. I was wondering if... you could come with me to rescue her."

"To rescue her? Do you know where she is being kept, My Diamond?"

"Well, no. Also, just call me Aqua when I look like this. It's less suspicious."

"How are we supposed to find her?"

"That, you can leave to them." She motioned towards the approaching Corundums.

"What are those?"

"It's a long story. Basically they were strategists and then they all got shattered except for these three."

"Ok, let me tell you the plan." Pink had told the Pearl.

\---

_The Shipyard, 3 hours_ _later_ _:_

Alright, both of you go. We'll be right behind you guys.

"Aqua, how will we pull this off?"

"Just walk. Trust me."

As soon as the Quartzes guarding the ship caught wind of the Quartz and Pearl, they were surrounded.

"Heh. Came back for your toy?" One of the Lemon Quartzes had told them.

"What did you do with her?" Aqua had demanded to know.

"Nothing bad. Just threw her in a cell."

"How can I be sure?"

"I assure you, Quartz. She is perfectly fine. In fact, she hasn't stopped defending your nonexistent honor." A new voice spoke up.

It was the Emerald in charge.

"Release her, or face my wrath." Aqua had threatened Emerald.

"Oh, I'd love to see that. What are you going to do? Throw that Pearl at me?"

The Pearl looked at her with fury in her eyes. How dare she insult her Diamond!

"What's all the commotion out here, Captain?" A voice had spoken, approaching the crowd of Quartzes.

Three gems appeared.

One was short and red in hue, her hand gem being red and faceted.

One had white skin and blue hair, her gem on her eye being a blue circular cut.

One was Aqua's height and had yellow skin with patterns of black. She had white hair and her chest gem was yellow, with veins of black lacing the gem.

"Ruby, Moonstone, Chalcedony, we've done it. Now, give her our terms."

"Surrender yourself and that fusion and we will release your toy." Chalcedony had told her.

"You forgot about  _me._ " Periwinkle Pearl had told her, summoning a parasol from her gemstone. She then hit Emerald with it.

"How did you even do that?!" Hope had said, shocked about this Pearl's ability to summon her weapon.

"Well, I wanted to protect you, My Quartz, and then it just came to me."

" _Wow, she's more_ _independent_ _than Pearl was._ " Hope had thought to herself.

Emerald recovered from the hit.

"Guards, take them both to the chambers!"

A Lemon Quartz had grabbed Pearl. Her parasol then disappeared into thin air. Pearl struggled to break free.

"Pearl!" Aqua had called for her temporary partner. She couldn't lose another one.

Not twice in the same week.

"Leave! Her! ALONE!" Aqua yelled at the Quartz, her arms glowing blue with power. She charged one forward and created a beam reminiscent of a dragon. The blast immediately destroyed anything it came in contact with, including the Lemon Quartz that held Pearl, 8 of the Quartz guards, and a nearby structure. The beam kept going straight, not stopping anytime soon. Some of the guards only had their physical forms destroyed, the rest were shattered.

The ones who were in their gems wouldn't come out for a long time.

Aqua just stood there, bewildered at what she had just done.

Was  _this_ what she was capable of?

"Aqua!" Pearl had yelled, crying tears of happiness.

Her happiness was cut short by the sound of a blade.

It impaled Pearl and Aqua right in the stomach.

Pearl had poofed.

Aqua did not. It caused her massive pain, but it wasn't enough for her to do what Pearl had.

"I got one." Moonstone had said. She was the owner of the cutlass that stabbed them both.

Aqua quickly grabbed the gemstone. She couldn't let her fall into the hands of the enemy.

"But you didn't get the important one. Let me show you how it's done."  Chalcedony had said. Her eyes turned pitch black, her pupils glowing white. The black spots on her body had spread further.

" _Let me show you the power of the warriors used in the rebellion._ " She had said in an overpowering voice. Her arms turned completely black and monstrous.

\---

In the cell, Pearl was working on summoning her weapon. She had no success thus far, only resulting in more exhaustion.

"Hey, slave! We got your little 'friends' surrounded! They're demanding your return." One of the guards had told her.

"What?" Pearl had said, confused.

"The Quartz and another Pearl. They came back for you. They're being dealt with by Lady Emerald herself."

 _"Aqua, no..."_  She thought to herself. She then realized that the guard had told her that another Pearl was with Aqua.

Had she been replaced?

She just  _had_ to go get them, replaced or not.

Pearl's gem glowed, and she pulled a weapon out. A staff with a pink handle, and a white blade. She hid it from the guard.

"The only way I will believe you is if I see them myself."

"Heh, fine. I'll show you the monitor."

The Quartz opened the cell, only to get slashed at. Pearl made a run for it. An alarm could be heard seconds after she did.

Several Quartzes had attempted to seize her, all getting either stabbed or slashed.

She could finally see the exit.

" _I'm_ _coming, Aqua. Wait for me."_

She was then grabbed by a Carnelian.

"You'll see your precious Quartz again real soon..."

She then carried her to a place she would remember.

\---

Chalcedony had transformed her hands into clawed hands, turning jet black in the process. Her eyes seemed to be leaking of black, but no liquid was on her body.

Aqua was clearly terrified of this shift in form, she was trembling. Not even White Diamond was as unsettling as  _this._

" _This is your last chance. Surrender yourself and_ _I_ _won't tear you to pieces."_

"I won't." Aqua responded.

" _Great,_ _now_ _I_ _can tear you to pieces."_

She charged forward with incredible speed, attempting to slash Aqua with her arm. Aqua couldn't dodge in time, and it hit her arm, leaving a black mark where she slashed.

This mark caused Aqua immense pain, immobilizing her. How could a gem like her do this much to a  _diamond?_

The mark had made it's way up Aqua's arm, causing her to hold her arm in hopes it would clear the pain a bit. It did not.

"Aqua!" A voice had called out.

She knew this voice anywhere.

"Pearl!" Aqua had called for her. Only for the pain on her arm to increase.

Pearl was being held by a Carnelian, struggling to break free from her grasp.

Violet Corundum came out, firing at the Carnelian. Pearl was freed from her grasp at last.

"Take Aqua and let's get out of here!" She told Pearl.

Pearl complied and carried Aqua on her back. She noticed Aqua had a Pearl's gemstone in her hands. It didn't matter right now, the important thing was getting her proper help.

The Quartzes there all headed their direction, only for Violet to stun them using her electric shock.

They quickly made a run for it.

\---

"This looks terrible. How did this happen?" Pearl had asked the Corundums.

"She got attacked by a Chalcedony and it left her with that mark." Pink had told her. "That looks like it might be permanent too. It's spreading on her body."

Yellow looked visibly uneasy. She faced away from Aqua's scar.

"I've seen scars like those during the war on the rebellion." Cyan had told Pearl. "I was only on Earth for about six months, but I would see gems limping in pain from those scars, spreading on their body, consuming the host."

"So... what happens to the host when it spreads fully?"

"I don't know. I only stayed on Earth for a short time."

"When the Scar of the Forbidden spreads fully, it automatically shatters the gem. No matter how tough they are. Even a Diamond is no match for it." Yellow said, almost reluctantly.

"How do you know this?" Pearl had asked her.

"I just know. No further details are needed. Only one Diamond can heal that scar. White Diamond."

"B-but she can't see Hope like  _thi_ s!"

"It's either that or letting her succumb to the ancient power."

After about a minute, Pearl reluctantly agreed to take her to White Diamond.

\---

Pearl had entered White Diamond's ship. Hope (disguised as Aqua Aura Quartz) was being carried on her back; her scar reaching her chest. White Diamond immediately took note of this.

"My, my. Looks like Comet has gotten herself into a little predicament. Leave her there." White Diamond had told Pearl.

White held out her hand, letting it touch the area where the scar was. Her hand glowed a white aura, and the scar had disappeared. Aqua had snapped out of her trance of pain.

"W-White!"

"Hello, Comet. You do know you can't fool me with that form. It's painfully obvious that it's you. The only reason I let you get away with this is for you to strengthen your powers. The more you discover, the better."

"Discover my powers?"

"You were made for one purpose and one purpose only: to bring destruction. Looks like everything came out according to design."

Aqua thought that she meant the beam she fired when protecting Periwinkle Pearl.

"To bring destruction? Why?"

"Surely you know the Crystal Gems. They started a rebellion on that failed colony. That was the start of our resource crisis. You will be in charge of resetting that rebellion and annihilating them."

"Resetting?"

"You know, you really are ignorant, Comet. You were supposed to have temporal manipulation, dear. The ability to reset timelines, to change a moment in history, to go forward in time. This would be how we restore the empire to its former glory."

She could do that?

Could she bring people who are now gone further in time to ensure their safety?

Could she really destroy entire planets?

Was she overthinking the possibilities of these powers?

"Now, I see no further reason to allow you to continue this charade. You must stay in your room until I tell you otherwise. If you do not, it will not look pleasant for you or your Pearls. Do you understand?"

"Yes, White."

She shapeshifted back to her normal form.

\---

"Does she really think she can boss me around?" Hope had started.

"Well, she is the leader of Homeworld." Pearl had responded.

"We can easily escape. Come on Pearl, let's go."

As she attempted to escape though, an invisible wall blocked their path.

"That's a containment field, My Diamond. No one can get in or out." Pearl had said.

" _We're trapped._ "

 

_ To be continued.... _


	8. Shatter the Crystal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Corundums encounter a mysterious gem while attempting to break the barrier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first 9 chapters were originally posted on Wattpad. Chapter 10 and onward will be released on both platforms simultaneously.

"This is a containment field alright. White Diamond must have activated it." Cyan had told them. "You know, if you and your Pearl actually followed the plan we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Enough about the plan! How do we escape?" Hope had yelled, clearly annoyed.

"The only way to deactivate a containment field is to find the device creating it and disable it yourself. Or you could destroy it." Yellow had explained.

"How are we supposed to find it if we're stuck in here?" Pink Corundum had responded to her. "I have an even better idea."

She covered her hands with purple acid using her powers. She then proceeded to smack them both into the floor. The part she had touched had melted.

" _Now_ we can escape." She said, a cocky grin formed on her face.

"But now we have a hole in the floor." Pearl had told her.

"Well, it shouldn't be too hard to cover it up. When My Diamond and I messed around with it we got by just fine."

"That's because the Diamonds weren't as strict back then. Now you can't even get away with walking off course." Yellow had told her.

"Classic Pink." Cyan had added.

"Oh, shut up. Like you could come up with a better idea."

"You're lucky you didn't end up like Powder Blue, Pink. You're so impulsive that half of your ideas backfire in your face!" Cyan had retorted.

"Well, look who's talking, you're as impulsive as me for star's sake! Maybe even more!"

"That's it you little-!" Yellow grabbed Cyan's arm as she was about to grab Pink.

"That's enough. This is no time for petty arguments. Let's just go and deactivate the field. Only we are small enough to fit through that hole and we are  _not_ making it larger." Yellow had said.

"Fine. Hope and I will stay. You three go ahead." Pearl had responded.

They all went through the hole.

\---

Hope and Pearl had stayed silent for a bit. They didn't know what to say to each other.

"You got a new Pearl, huh?" Pearl finally broke the silence.

"Huh? Oh, her. White gave her to me in response to you being captured. I didnt mean to replace you, really." Hope had clarified to her.

"Is she alright? How badly did those Quartzes get to her?"

"She's fine. She's right here." Hope showed her the Pearl's gemstone. "She tried to save me back there. Even summoned her weapon. I didn't even know she had it in her to do so."

"You know, while I was captured, I summoned my weapon successfully. It took a few hours, but it was successful in the end." Pearl had told her, smiling.

"So even you can do it."

"What? What are you referring to?"

"So even you can summon your weapon, yet I can't no matter how hard I try. I summoned some weird power that killed a few gems but I couldn't summon my weapon. I just don't get it. If I have a weapon, shouldn't that have come out?"

"Do you remember when we formed that fusion? You... we summoned both weapons. Yours was a hilt of a sword. Mine was a staff. She combined them and got a full-on crystal sword. It is possible to summon your weapon, you just need patience."

"How much will it take for it to appear? One of the two of you being shattered? Us being caught again? I can't just wait for it to happen. I need it to appear as soon as possible."

"Rushing into every situation doesn't help the situation, Hope. It only makes it worse. True power is patience, remember that. Also, what do you mean by the  _two_ of 'you'?"

"That other Pearl, Periwinkle Pearl. You two are the only ones I truly trust right now." Hope knew she was right when Pearl said patience was key, but didn't say anything. She just rested her head on her hands. "For all we know the other three might have ulterior motives that contradict ours'. I sort of have trust issues with other gems. Besides you and Peri." Hope assured Pearl. "You two will always be my priority. She tried to protect me. You were there for me all this time. You and I fused out of a heartfelt connection."

Pearl blushed at that last sentence. She proceeded to lay on Hope's arm, overwhelmed just a bit.

"Would you like to do that again? Intentionally this time?" Hope had asked her, holding a hand out.

"Wh-?! Oh, nonononono! I-I mean I would love to normally! Really! But it's just that White Diamond can barge in at any moment. When we're alone, possibly. Y-you know how she is!" Pearl had stammered, blushing madly. Clearly, she didn't expect that. Truth be told, she did want to do it again. Just not when the looming threat of death was still present.

She would have no chance of being spared with  _her._

Periwinkle Pearl's gemstone then glowed, levitating into the air. She reformed with a different appearance. A look of confusion spread on her face.

"Another Pearl? What is she doing here?"

"Ok, look Pearl. This is going to be hard to explain. Remember that friend we were going to save? Well, this is her. Bubblegum, meet Periwinkle. And vice versa."

Periwinkle seemed to be on the verge of tears. She covered her mouth with one of her hands, seeming to shiver. She ran off, bursting out crying, only to be hit by the barrier. Pearl seemed to know what was going on with her.

"She most likely believes that since I'm back, she'll no longer be needed. All Pearls deal with that eventually. Being cast aside like an object for a newer model. It's sickening." Pearl seeped with disgust just saying these words. She had her head down while saying those words, she hated the reality of how Pearls were treated on Homeworld. While studying files on Pink Diamond and the Earth, she had discovered some tales about the Pearls who served the gems participating in the war. Some were abandoned, left behind by their owners. One of which being a Pearl who was thought by their owner to be betraying them. She was trained by her "mother" to treat it as a normal part of gemkind and not let it get to her, but whatever she initially thought as a standard Pearl was gone (well, at least most of her initial thoughts). "Whatever the case, you should definitely talk to her. Clear all of it up for her."

Hope (at first) only saw Periwinkle as a replacement for her original Pearl, too upset by Bubblegum's capture to even notice the other Pearl or even remember she existed. Periwinkle always seemed concerned, but whether that was actual concern or part of her programming to take notice of her owner's feelings, she didn't know. She didn't care. It was only when one of the Corundums (she didn't remember which) gave the suggestion to bring her that she remembered she existed. She brought her along, entrusting her with the knowledge that she was pretending to be a Quartz when she went out in public. She mostly went along with whatever Hope did, until she was threatened. The terms of the ransom were laid out: surrender herself and Pearl goes free. Periwinkle then attacked Emerald with her weapon she had summoned. This caught Hope's attention. She went against everything a Pearl was supposed to be to defend her master's honor (that she did not have according to those gems). This eventually got her in deep trouble, getting seized and then poofed shortly after; but not before Hope had unleashed a deadly power in a successful attempt to get the Lemon Quartz to release her. It barely mattered, as they were both stabbed about ten seconds afterward. Only one had withstood it. Periwinkle reminded her of what she wanted her original Pearl to be in the beginning. Mostly independent.

She told Pearl none of this, however. She didn't want her being angry at the fact that she disregarded a fellow Pearl's existence. She then complied with Pearl's request and went over to talk to Periwinkle.

\----

Meanwhile, all three of the Corundums were shapeshifted as Sapphires (the gems that matched their physique the most), as there is a bounty on the whole cut of Corundum. The three were having no luck in finding the source of the containment field. The gems in the hall paid no mind to them, aside from the bowing they received from lower ranked gems.

"I'm surprised that no one has caught us yet." Cyan had told the other two. She was watching carefully for any signs of a containment device.

"Don't say that. People always catch others right after they say that." Pink had told her.

Yellow stayed silent.

Suddenly, a hand emerges out of the corner of the hall. It grabs the trio by their backs.

When they could comprehend the situation, they saw in front of them a Sapphire. She had dark blue skin and dark hair. Her triangular cut gem was on the back of her right hand. She had been alone, seemingly curious about the situation.

"Corundums.... what are you doing here?" She asked calmly yet curiously.

"How-?" Pink had asked, only to get interrupted.

"A vision showed me your true identity. You get caught and shattered by two Topaz guards in that future. If you had proceeded to go down that hall, it would have come into fruition." Sapphire had explained to them. "The question I am asking is what have you come here for? Wandering these halls would have caused your demise in a short amount of time." Sapphire crossed her arms.

"We were looking for a containment box or tower. Do you possibly know where-?" Yellow had asked Sapphire, only to get a finger to her lips.

"Yes. Follow me and stay inconspicuous." She had told them.

It took several minutes, but they were led to a tower that shined white from the inside. The Quartz guards only needed to take a glance at the gems in front of them before letting them in. Foolish Quartzes. They were always very gullible when it came to the gems that passed by the Tower of Imprisonment. The four gems had walked up what had seemed to be an eternal flight of stairs. After what seemed like five hours, they reached the top of the tower: the core of the barrier present.

"This is it. Destroy the crystal in the middle and the barrier is broken." Sapphire had informed them.

"Cool. Do you by any chance have a weapon?" Pink had asked her.

"Sapphires don't possess weapons. Only our future vision. You do not possess one either."

"Oh-!"

"And before you ask, I'm not fusing with any of you. It's informal."

The problem now was how they were going to destroy the crystal.

\---

Periwinkle Pearl was crying in the corner of the room. Thoughts were rushing to her head, she was not sure what to make of any of them. She thought that she was the only Pearl her Diamond had ever owned. It turns out she wasn't so special. Another Pearl already had that title and Hope just used her to get that Pearl back.

There was a problem with that last statement, though. Hope actually fought to protect her during her final moments on the battlefield before being stabbed. Perhaps Hope got her free herself. Besides, if she was only using her as a pawn, why would she keep her around?

It made no sense to the frail Pearl. Nothing made sense anymore. She wished she was dead, that way she wouldn't have to feel anything anymore.

"Hey, Pearl. Mind if I sit here?" Hope had stood next to her. Pearl simply shook her head. She then gave Hope a look of betrayal. She did not want to talk to her right now.

"Look, I know you might think I won't need you anymore since Bubblegum is back- and I'm sorry for not telling you we were rescuing another Pearl, I didnt think it was important to tell you- but that's not true. You can help us achieve our goal of escaping this awful place. That way you won't have to face the harsh expectations of Pearls on these colonies and Homeworld, you can just be yourself! How does that sound?

Pearl just looked at her. She then tucked her head in between her arms. She muffled something.

"Speak up, Pearl."

"How do I know you're not just going to cast me aside like all the other gems do? You can't prove that you won't. Just turn me in to the Diamonds already. I'm sure they'll shatter me for questioning what I'm not supposed to."

"No. I won't do it, Pearl. I won't cast you aside, not like I once did in my depression. You will be a valued member of our group."

Pearl stopped for a moment. She then stood up and told something to Hope.

"Can you swear it? Can you swear on your gem that you won't treat us like your personal toys?"

"Us?"

"That other Pearl and I. She's one of us too, you know." Pearl had clarified.

"Yes. I swear." Hope had said, as serious as can be. "Now, come on. Let me properly introduce you to each other." She switched to a lighter tone.

Hope had held Periwinkle Pearl's hand, bringing her to the other Pearl.

It was a little awkward.

"Oh, hi there... Pearl. Great to meet you, I've always wanted a partner in crime." Periwinkle greeted her.

"In crime? You have wanted to do crimes before?"

"N-no! Not like that! I mean in general, I just wanted a partner. Not our owner, but a gem who could truly understand our-!"

"I'm sorry. Could you not call Hope your 'owner'? Call her by her name."

"Does it matter? She  _is_ technically our owner."

"Hope isn't like other high ranking gems. She isn't even like the other Diamonds. She's less formal, so she does not appreciate us talking like we are lesser than she is. If you could please show her some proper respect, that would be great."

"Gee, someone's cranky."

"Excuse me?!"

"Ok, that's enough!" Hope had intervened with the conversation. "You can call me whatever you feel comfortable with."

"See, Pearl? She isn't like them." Bubblegum had told the other Pearl. She had a sort of angry look on her face.

Periwinkle clung onto Hope's leg as if she were protecting her.

"Could you please show me where I could stay?" She asked Hope.

"I would, but I don't think we're going to stay here anymore after this." She said to her, head lowered.

"What?" Both had said at the same time.

"Staying here pretending we did nothing wrong will guarantee that White will attempt to shatter you all except me. She already knows our secret, why not just live on the run?"

"Ok, but there's one thing you're forgetting: how will we do this without a shelter?" Bubblegum had asked her.

"Simple; we meet at different places to make us impossible to track, we infiltrate each one unnoticed."

Both Pearls were hesitant about the idea.

"Are you sure something like that would work?" Bubblegum had asked her.

"Of course. They won't  _expec_ t us to do that."

"They will, eventually. That is why we must do everything we can to get that ship. The sooner we get off planet, the better."

Hope had thought about something: if the original destination had been abandoned, does it still have gems on that planet in case of a raid? If so, they would be in a bit of trouble. They would have to find a planet or moon that has not been accounted for by Homeworld. Unfortunately that was a bit of a mission, so she wouldn't get to that until the day came that they successfully got that ship.

If they don't get destroyed by then.

\---

It has been a very long two hours. The crystal showed no sign of breakage even after fusing and punching the crystal repeatedly with Violet's four icy fists.

"Do you even know how long this will take?" Violet had asked the Sapphire.

"A decade." She responded.

"We don't have that kind of time!"

"Let me handle it."

She simply gripped the crystal before it shattered.

"H-h-how?! How did you manage to do it so quickly?"

"Each crystal has their weak points. This one is ancient, it is easy to figure out what it is."

"Why are you even helping us? If you get caught, your life will be ruined just like that." Violet had wondered.

Out of the three gems that could be produced with the same material, Sapphires are the rarest and highest in the caste rank of them all due to their ability: clairvoyance. Corundums  _were_  second highest due to their unique thinking process compared to the others. Sure, there were other gems made to think, but Corundums were easiest to mass produce. That left the Rubies to be the lowest. They act as foot soldiers, similar to Quartzes such as Jaspers, Amethysts and Carnelians. The difference was that they were shorter and had multiple uses. They were the most common of the trio. It was rare to see a Sapphire interact with a Ruby or Corundum (aside from assignments).

A component of Violet had seen one of those rare cases, and it had been an unforgettable experience. It partly influenced who she was today. It left a sour taste in her mouth. After that incident, she figured a Sapphire wouldn't tarnish their reputation like that ever again. Apparently she was wrong.

Sapphire had to think for a moment before responding. "I grow bored of being forced to relay predictions. Everyone needs a little spice in their life, a gem once told me." She seemingly was on the lookout for other gems.

"Perhaps. But have you thought about what would happen if you  _did_  get caught?" Violet had wondered. She was genuinely interested in the response.

"I would accept my fate and move on. Shattering a gem may mean their physical form is gone, but their consciousness never truly leaves. It persists in limbo. That is what I have been told by others of my cut." She had calmly said to the fusion in front of her. "Shattering is a tame punishment compared to being imprisoned in architecture or harvested for eternity. At least the confines of being a gem in an uptight society would no longer be bound to yourself. Otherwise, it would stay with you forever. Imagine wanting to scream, but you have no mouth to perform the action. That is what it would feel like." She seemed to say these words as if she had been wanting to say them for a long time.

Violet had only one thought in the back of her head. "You are very...  _interesting_ to say the least."

"When you stay on Homeworld for as long as I have knowing how your demise will come, you have a different outlook on life itself." She had responded. "I must depart now. One of Blue Diamond's elites will call for me in exactly four minutes. It was nice talking to you." She departed without another word.

Violet stood there for a moment. When she finally recovered, she went to report to her teammates of the destruction of the barrier.

\---

Hope had drawn a diagram of all the different places for her, the Pearls, and the Corundums to hide out on Homeworld until they got an Emerald's ship. Any Emerald. It didn't matter which one. Several places on Homeworld's digital map were crossed out and circled. The Pearls had helped with this diagram, as they were the ones who had access to the daily population data of each place.

"Hopefully all goes well..." Hope had stated at the diagram she had recently drawn out. She had her hand on her chin, contemplating the distance between each location with a low population.

The door on the room then opened. The three Corundums were standing in the doorway. Hope was immediately giddy, she knew what that meant.

"It is done, the barrier is broken." Yellow Corundum had told the three gems.

"What is that behind you? A map?" Cyan had asked Hope, seemingly curious about her surroundings.

"Ok, guys, we have a change of plans. We will no longer be staying here. We will hide in the abandoned areas of Homeworld, waiting for a chance to strike. Once the day comes that we steal that ship, that will be our ticket out of here. I hope it will not take too long." Hope had told them her plan. She did not trust them fully, but they were still useful for the time being. They did not let her retrieve her Pearl when she was taken, even though it surely would have worked with the right course of action, and barely helped in the situation with Emerald and her crew. If the time came where they betrayed her in any way shape or form, she would be sure to destroy them just like the Howlite did with White Corundum.

She promised herself that would be the case if they ever did step out of line.

She did not need them as long as she had her Pearls. Her Pearls would never go against her.

Hope then shapeshifted into her second identity, Aqua Aura Quartz.

"Gather whatever belongings you possess here. We will depart right after." She told the five gems standing behind her. "And one more thing. As for my identity as a Diamond; from this day forward it will no longer exist. Tell no one of my true identity, and pretend I was never a Diamond. If one  _does_  somehow find out, shatter them. No one can know the truth from here on out." She gave her orders to them. "Now, are there any questions?"

The room was silent.

"I didn't think so."

After all of the belongings (and White Corundum's bubble) were accounted for, Pink Corundum had made a hole in the wall, and the six went out, leaving the room behind forever.  
  


_To be continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here marks the end of the Beginnings arc! It seems that Hope (or should I say Aqua?) is going down a dark path... A path similar to her predecessor. As always, leave your opinions down in the comments!


	9. Rescue at the Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pearls and Two Corundums head out on a mission. Meanwhile, Pink shows Aqua her old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first 9 chapters were originally posted on Wattpad. Chapter 10 and onward will be released on both platforms simultaneously. As of now, this version is completely caught up with the Wattpad version. Chapter 10 is in progress, and will be released when it's ready,

_**The Depths of Homeworld:** _

The six gems had spent about 4 days in the shadows. It was nowhere near as comfortable as the room in the Palace, but they made do. Of course, it was a struggle to attempt to not be seen; all of the gems with Aqua weren't built for fighting, which was a huge disadvantage. Even though Aqua wasn't bound by this restriction, as Diamonds could technically be whatever they wanted, she was never properly trained in combat by White Diamond. She was only taught the basics of being a Diamond: etiquette, how to properly colonize a planet, et cetera et cetera. She hoped that they would somehow be able to defend themselves against the soldiers of Homeworld.

Aqua frequently trained in summoning her weapon in order to protect those who are allied with her. Unfortunately, she hasn't had much luck in doing so. She felt like she needed to do this more than ever considering the situation she got her team into. She decided on this, she needs to make it work. Her weapon was a sword hilt according to Bubblegum Pearl, who fused with her to form Celestial Aura Quartz (name given by Aqua). The question was how a sword hilt was going to defend a crew of gems. She considered practicing control on her "diamond powers" in case the weapon wasn't enough... but the problem with that was simple: she was supposed to be a Quartz. That would make her look suspicious. Quartzes didn't have that kind of power.... did they?

She then remembered something... or someone: the Chalcedony from the Emerald's crew. She gave Aqua a scar that nearly killed her. The only reason she lived was because of White Diamond's assistance. If she got that scar again, she was done for. Aqua decided to stay away from that Emerald and her crew to avoid the risk of being the victim of the scar once again. It was for the best.

At the very least, both Pearls knew how to summon their weapons. That was one less thing Aqua had to worry about. Not to say that they were a burden at all.

There was one looming question in the back of her mind: if White Diamond already knew she was truly a Diamond, what was the point in rebelling as Aqua? She knew the answer. She no longer wanted to be a Diamond. She wanted freedom.

The Corundums had attempted to improve what little fighting skills they had. They had no weapons, which made it harder on them to actually fight. At the moment, fusion was their best bet.

Currently, they were near the Tower of Seers, a living space for Sapphires. The two Pearls, Yellow, and Cyan Corundum were on watch for activity inside the tower. Aqua Aura Quartz and Pink Corundum were left to stay put in the nearby watchtower.

"So, what do we do now?" Pink had asked Aqua. She was holding the bubble of shards that encased her deceased mentor.

"We wait for the report to be provided from the others. The Sapphires will likely be called to predict our next strike. If so, we will do the opposite of what they predict." Aqua had responded to her. She was sure of this plan. Doing something the guards wouldn't expect would be perfect. "By the way, why are you holding that?" she referred to the bubble.

"Because if White made it out alive, we would be able to do this easily." Pink had said, half nostalgic half depressed. "She was one of White Diamond's 'eyes', no one dared mess with her. Whatever she said, that was how it would go down. She used to tell us stories of the start of the Diamonds' reign. She was apparently a very important gem alongside the two original diamonds along with-" Pink then stopped. Her face lit up instantly. "Oh, she would  _love_  to see you, Aqua!"

"She did. I've met her before, White Corundum, I mean. She seemed... nice." Aqua recalled the first and last time she saw White Corundum. She was the only gem that actually seemed normal to her before meeting her original Pearl. Truth be told, she would have wanted to know her. The problem was she reformed a little too late when White Diamond had damaged her form, poofing her. She reformed right before she was assassinated by the Spinels.

"I wasn't talking about White, Aqua." Pink corrected her.

"Then, who were you talking about?" Aqua had wondered.

"...I'll show you. It will be quick, I promise." Pink had assured Aqua, she held Aqua's hand and attempted to drag her somewhere. Aqua pulled her hand away from Pink's.

"Where are we even going, Pink? We need to stay here in case they find something. We can meet up with this 'friend' later." Aqua quickly turned the idea down. They were already in the middle of a plan, they couldn't quit now.

"No, we can't. This is our only chance to meet up with her.  _They_   wouldn't approve. They never did. She isn't bad... I promise." Pink seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I just want to see her one last time, Aqua. Before we leave forever." She was practically begging. Her arms were crossed, she didn't make eye contact with Aqua, she seemed distant.

Aqua seemed very hesitant to comply with Pink's request. A mysterious friend that others say is a bad gem, but Pink says otherwise. It seemed  _way_  too risky.

''Please... trust me. For once... just trust me. No one ever has. Only Pink Diamond had, until the rebellion. We grew more and more distant, she spent more time with her Pearl than me. She wouldn't tell me anything anymore. Then she was gone. Pearl turned traitor and no one else knows but me. I saw her with Rose Quartz after the shattering... you have no idea how much it hurt, Aqua. It hurt to know that our Diamond trusted her with her darkest secrets only to betray her in the end. She deserved her untimely fate. She died after the Diamonds' attack on the Earth. Her  _real_  Pearl would never do such a thing. Unfortunately, she's under White's possession." Pink nearly broke down in tears. "I just want someone who trusts me again... please... help me get to her." She held one of Aqua's white boots while laying on the floor, tears falling on the ground where her face was.

Aqua didn't know what to say. She took the Corundums' supposed loyalty with a grain of salt, but here was Pink, laying out all of her suppressed and painful memories to her. The Rebellion was most likely a dark time in her life. Why would she relay her pain and suffering to  _Aqua_  of all gems? Weren't Yellow and Cyan her partners? She wouldn't ask this question out of fear of her response. In the end, she made up her mind.

"Alright, lead the way, Pink. Just make it quick, please." Aqua had finally told her. Pink stopped crying and looked up to the blue gem in front of her. She then did something unexpected.

She hugged Aqua. Tightly. The tears came flowing back.

"Thank you... I won't let you down.... this will be worth your while..." Aqua let her have her moment. It was literally only about six seconds before she grabbed Aqua's hand and pulled her to who knows where.

They stopped in front of some sort of platform. Pink had hopped on it. Aqua didn't follow.

"Come on! Get on!" Pink had called to her.

"What is it?" Aqua had asked her. She had never seen anything like it. It was a decently sized crystalline platform. It bore a pattern on its side.

"It's a warp pad, Aqua. It's the fastest way of transportation possible on Homeworld. Come on, I'll show you something cool." Pink had tried to convince Aqua to go through with her idea. Aqua stepped on the warp pad, glowing shortly after. Soon enough, they were in a stream of light flowing upwards. It was surreal. Pink was endlessly giggling.

"This is my favorite part. You get used to it, eventually."

\---

Several different colors of Sapphires could be seen in the tower. Green, Purple, Blue, Orange... it was like watching a rainbow incarnated into several gems. They all seemed detached from the world, as if their consciousness is elsewhere. It was future vision at work.

Outside this tower was four gems. Two of two types of gems. Pearls and Corundums. Different colors. One Pearl was a pink color, the other a bluish-purple. One Corundum was yellow, the other was light blue. They were part of the newly formed rebellion going around Homeworld. Their goal? To get off the forsaken planet.

"Do any of you see or hear anything interesting?" Periwinkle Pearl had asked her team. She was in charge of reporting their findings in the mission. She took her job seriously, as it was a task for her beloved Quartz. Periwinkle Pearl was a Pearl with a dream: to have a master she could sympathize with. Aqua had fit that role, and she was grateful for that. At first, she wasn't so fond of Bubblegum Pearl, bickering with her in their first interactions. Since then, however, they have grown to understand each other. They had the same goal, after all: to protect their Quartz.

"No. Not right now at least." Yellow Corundum had responded to the Pearl. Yellow's job was to listen for any possible predictions. She hacked into the surveillance system and projected the live activity in the tower from her gem on her head. Any predictions that were concrete in taking them down. She would have been a private eye if she had two eyes. Unfortunately, she only had one functioning eye. The other being removed from her form permanently. She had been asked about this by Periwinkle Pearl, but she did not like to speak of her past.

"They're still doing the thing Sapphires always do; stay in the future." Cyan Corundum had reported. She took Yellow's job of being a private eye. She was a bit aggressive, but Yellow loved her regardless. Perhaps that was her type? Cyan had always dreamed of fighting a full fledged arena battle like the fighting gems on Homeworld. She had watched arena battles with her former Diamond and her Pearl, loving every second of them. Secretly, she had a fondness for Blue Diamond's Pearl. She was a companion she liked to hang around with, especially since she loved art.

"Hm." Bubblegum Pearl had gave a brief hum in acknowledgment.  She was the strategist of the group. Ironic considering the Corundums' whole life purpose were to be strategists. Pearl was Aqua's most trusted gem. She was the one she knew for the longest, and Bubblegum was happy to do her job of serving her. Aqua had wanted more of her than just being her servant. She wanted her Pearl to be able to fully enjoy being a free gem. Bubblegum has been making progress in trying to be independent and defying her purpose as a Pearl. Her favorite hobby was watching the stars. Space had always astounded her.

"This is taking too long! It's been hours!" Cyan had grown bored. She was rather impatient, after all.

"Stay tight, love. Just a little longer." Yellow had assured her, she rested her hand on Cyan's arm.

"So... how does the whole 'Corundums, Rubies and Sapphires are made with the same material' thing work? Are you all technically the same gem, or are you all different?" Periwinkle Pearl asked curiously.

"Well, at first there were only two Corundums, when the gem population was still relatively new. When the old leaders were ousted, the Diamonds took over. They attempted to replicate the materials the first species used to make the gems that were currently on Homeworld. The two Corundums were in charge of replicating their materials, and made several  'children' as a test. They each took custody of two Corundums and tested their abilities. They found that the three gems were made with the same materials, and put this hypothesis to the test. The results are the Rubies and Sapphires you currently know." Cyan had explained to her. "We weren't around back then; White Corundum, our mentor, had told us this story about fifty times." She seemed to be annoyed at this statement. "It's kind of like how you two were created by Abalones. They pass a small amount of their abilities to their creations: Pearls."

"Oh. Is that why you're all so short?" Periwinkle snickered. Cyan seemed to take offense.

"Shut it. Just because we're short doesn't mean we aren't gems. Size doesn't matter, you know." She blushed a bit in frustration.

"Shh... someone is approaching." Yellow had told them in a hushed voice.

Two Heliodor gems had passed the group and entered the tower. They had both ran across the hallway, searching frantically for something. Or maybe someone. Whatever it was, they certainly weren't trying to apprehend the rebel group. If they were, they would have been more cautious outside of the tower.

"What do you think they're looking for?" Bubblegum had asked her team. She was curious. If they weren't looking for them, who or what were they looking for?

Their answer soon came when they finally opened a door in the Facet-7 Sapphires' quarters.

"Where is Cut-9FE? The Royal Blue Sapphire with the dark hair?" One of them had demanded.

She stepped forward. Instantly, the two Corundums recognized her.

She was the Sapphire who helped the three Corundums find and deactivate the barrier crystal. That Sapphire. She most likely foresaw this happening, the Heliodor gems looking for her. For Sapphire, it was not surprising. She had long accepted that this would happen.

"What is the meaning of this, Heliodor?" The Sapphire had spoken. She sounded as stoic as ever.

"One of our Ulexites reported seeing you helping a couple of Corundums. You know that they are all supposed to be dead, right? They are also traitors to their Homeworld, they were spotted during a failed invasion of one of Yellow Diamond's Emerald's ships fused into an abomination to gem society." One of them spoke, clearly enraged.

"I acknowledge that what I did was treason. You can take me out of here and shatter me. I do not wish for the other Sapphires to see me shattered." She admitted her guilt.

"Very well. Take her to the back of the tower." One had told the other.

\---

Aqua and Pink reached their warp destination. A seemingly abandoned field with little to no light from the sky. Instead, there was nothing but darkness and rocks. It seemed like a deserted area, as no new structures were built. Only ruins of what once were structures. There was no doubt in Aqua's mind that this was an unsettling view.

"Is... is this where your friend is?" Aqua had asked Pink, still unsure of who this friend is.

"Yes, she's just in there."

She pointed to a demolished structure. This structure was huge, completely black with a very tall entrance.  It was covered in dust and ash and lacked a roof, the top being completely opened. The place seemed like it was significant at one point, but completely abandoned after several years.

"She's probably still here, knowing her. Come in!" Pink ran into the structure without thinking. Aqua was hesitant after seeing the structure. She then decided to follow Pink into this structure where her friend was. She would never know how trustworthy her friend really was until she met her. Hesitantly, she stepped in with her.

\---

One of the Heliodors slammed the Sapphire into the outside wall of the tower. This pained her a bit. Both of them held weapons in their hands, two golden katanas.

"Let's make a proposition. If you tell us where those gems are going to appear next, we will gladly let you off with a warning. You will be spared, but at a price of solitary confinement in the Diamonds' dungeons. So, tell us, Our Grand Clarity: where will the rebellion group strike next?" One of the Heliodors smirked while holding her katana menacingly.

The Sapphire placed her hand over her bangs. The Heliodors were awaiting her prediction of the future, lowering their weapons. They knew they had won the negotiation.

"I forsee the rebels' next strike being on two gems of Yellow Diamond's court. It will take place outside of the Tower of Seers in exactly two seconds." She had stated to them both.

A beam of energy was fired at one of the two Heliodors, catching the other off guard. The other was then stabbed by a pink staff with a white blade, poofing her immediately after. The attackers jumped out of hiding. Two Pearls, both with weapons out. The bluish-purple one had a parasol, while the pink one had a staff. They were both standing in front of her. Real live Rogue Pearls, the kind that only existed in rumors and stories of the rebellion on Earth. Yet here Sapphire was, witnessing two Pearls in the open that could defend themselves. She had foreseen this happening, but it astounded her when she first saw the vision.

"Not bad for a rookie, you're doing better at this." The pink one had said to the other.

"It's alright. You're safe now, Sapphire." The bluish-purple one had turned around and said to Sapphire, a smile on her face. She picked up the Heliodor's gem and bubbled it.

"You are..." Sapphire had started.

"Don't feign ignorance, darling. It was obvious you foresaw all of us coming to your rescue. That's why you saved us from an untimely demise; to have us save you from a life of predictable futures. Did I get that right, Royal Blue?" A soft, mellow voice had spoken behind Sapphire. She turned around and saw a cross-gem fusion about seven feet tall with three functioning eyes and one defective eye. She had mint colored skin and seafoam green hair, straight and trailing behind her. She had two gems; one on her head and one on her right arm. Both Corundum-cut gems.

"You are correct. Oh, and the other Heliodor will try to pull a surprise attack in a few seconds." Sapphire had told them.

"Allow me." The fusion had stated to the Pearls. She then proceeded to cover her hands in cold ice and approach the recovering Heliodor. She had grabbed her by her neck and applied pressure to her grip, causing the gem on the back of her neck to shatter. "Keep the other one. We'll interrogate her once we get out of here." She had her demands met by the Pearls. She then approached Sapphire with a smile.

"Seafoam Corundum. Pleased to meet you." She held out a hand to Sapphire.

Sapphire did something unexpected. She smiled back.

"Royal Blue Sapphire. It is a pleasure." She held out her hand with the gem on it. Seafoam then helped her up.

"There is another gem I would like you to meet. She's our leader. We need to get her approval to have you on the team." Seafoam had told Sapphire. "She's in the watchtower, it's not too far from here."

After a couple of minutes of walking on foot, they reached the watchtower where Aqua and Pink would be.

"A push should open this door."

Seafoam then proceeded to punch open the door.

"We're here! It's just us, the Pearls and Corundums!" She had called out to the two gems.

"Aqua? It's me, it's Pearl! Your trusted Pearl!" Bubblegum Pearl had called. No response was heard.

"They're not here...." Periwinkle Pearl had told them. "They went off somewhere."

"Where would Aqua even go at a time like this?" Seafoam had asked. An additional question popped up in her mind  _'Where would Pink go at a_ _time_ _like_ _this?'._

She came to a conclusion she did not like to think about. Her three pupils shrank in fear. She came apart, and in her place were Yellow and Cyan.

"We know where they went." Cyan had told them. Yellow was trembling with her arms crossed.

"Where did they go?" Periwinkle Pearl had questioned. She was afraid to hear the answer after seeing their reaction.

"The ruins of the Ancient Plaza. Where  _she_ is." Cyan seemed to seethe at her own words.

"Who is ' _she_ '? Bubblegum Pearl had asked fearfully.

\---

The footsteps of the gems present had echoed loudly in the halls. Not another noise was heard besides the pitter patter of their feet. Around the gems were remains of furniture, crumbled rocks, several gem shards that were shattered to the point where it was impossible to tell what gems they once were. But the most horrifying scene was the bones on the ground. Bones of organic life that have been long dead. Some were full on skeletons that were wedged between two rocks. Others were just there.

Clearly, at least twenty beings, gems and organics, have died here long ago. These were their remains. Nothing but bones and shards. Dried blood could also be identified both on the floor and walls of the structure.

It was truly horrifying.

"It's just a few more minutes, Aqua. She's right in the room at the end." Pink had told her, trying to calm Aqua down.

It did not help.

Finally, they reached their destination.

"She's in here, Aqua. Try to be nice to her. She doesn't like 'parasitic gems' in her room." Pink had gave Aqua advice.

Aqua had taken a mental note of this. She tried to open the doors, but they were tightly shut. She pushed with much more force, and it slowly opened. Two rocks were behind the door.

The room they were in was in the best condition. Better than any of the rooms they had previously been in. It was colored black, had a galaxy-like pattern on its ceiling, had white cushions on the ground, a staircase that ended mid flight due to the demolished roof, and a gem in a bubble in the middle of the room. This gem was shattered into four large shards , but had chips in a few places that were missing from the full gem. The gem had a diamond shaped cut and was very large. About a foot tall.

"I see gems these days don't know how to knock..." a voice had said. It was soft but unsettling, a venomous tone.

"It's me, Pink Corundum. This is my new friend, Aqua Aura Quartz. You'll have to excuse her, she doesn't know the historical significance of this place." Pink had told the voice.

Out stepped a hooded gem. She was short, about Pink's height. A glow could be seen from her left eye.

"Um... hello?" Aqua had greeted the gem, a bit awkwardly.

"You know, it's rude to lurk in doorways. Step forward."

Aqua had done so, putting her hands together in nervousness.

"As for you, little one..." She motioned towards Pink. Aqua was in a defensive pose, ready for anything she could pull.

Pink was pulled into a hug by the gem.

"I'm glad at least  _you_ see me for what I truly am..." The gem had told her. Pink had embraced the hug.

"So... about White...." Pink had presented the other gem with White Corundum's shards.

"...So White Diamond finally got rid of her partner in crime, huh?" She had said, almost in a sad tone. "Such a shame. If only My Diamond could see what a monster her companion has become without being in an inferior host such as I."

"Inferior host? Who even are you?" Aqua had questioned the gem. She seemed slightly annoyed at the question.

"Hmph, very well."

She motioned towards the bubbled gem in the middle of the room.

"I am the personal advisor of the late monarch, Black Diamond." She revealed herself behind the cloak. She had a black eye with white pupils, her gem was where her left eye would have been.  She had gray skin and black hair. She then covered her eye and gem with her hair.

"I am Black Corundum."

 

_ To be continued... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here marks the beginning of the Black Diamond arc! As always, leave your opinions down in the comments, please.


	10. The Dangers of Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The remaining team fight to retrieve Aqua and Pink from the clutches of Black Corundum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All in the audience, we have a new longest chapter!
> 
> Sorry this took so long! This chapter was the hardest to write (at least so far), but I hope you all will like it!

 

"It's impossible.... she should've been killed along with the rest of our cut..." Cyan had said in disbelief. "But if she was, Pink would have came back... damn it. That manipulative... ARGH!" Cyan came close to shattering the Heliodor gem in her hands, only to be stopped by Bubblegum Pearl.

"Who are you even talking about? Maybe the rest of us could understand your frustration if you just told us the name of who you were talking about." The Pearl had tried to reason with Cyan.

"It's taboo to even mention her. Besides, you wouldn't know her anyways." Cyan tried desperately to dodge the question. "Let's just wait for them to come back. They will eventually, anyway." She tried to change the subject. "So, why don't we interrogate this Heliodor like we wanted to?" She then noticed Yellow's visible discomfort.

Cyan tried desperately to comfort Yellow. She was trembling uncontrollably, tears coming out of her eye. Cyan hugged her for about forty-five minutes before Yellow eventually calmed down.

"How could Pink respect that wench? She's part of the reason we're in this mess. Both me and you!" Yellow had ranted while crying. "There's a reason we tell her never to go near her! She never listens!"

"Can someone fill us in? Anyone?" Periwinkle Pearl had asked the two Corundums.

"I foresee who they are talking about. But it is not my responsibility to tell you two. It's _their's_." Sapphire had told the two Pearls, motioning to the two Corundums. "You know you have to tell them eventually, you two. Either you tell them, or I will myself." Sapphire had threatened Cyan and Yellow.

Yellow had covered her mouth with her hands.

One of them finally spoke up.

"Black Corundum. One of the two original Corundums. She is the most powerful one now that White is dead." Cyan had explained to them. "She raised two Corundums she created to match up to her powers. They both could never match up to her potential, but it didn't matter to her. Black had powers that no other Corundums had: the ability to permanently scar a gem and control over dark matter. She went mad after someone close to her had been shattered, she became more distant. Eventually, she completely abandoned her responsibilities as both a Corundum and a mentor to the other Corundums and left the mentor role for White to take on. She abandoned both of her 'children' when they needed her most, and as a result, they lost their will to live and shattered themselves. From then on, Black was an outlaw wanted by the Diamonds. Several bounty hunting gems took on the hunt, but none ever returned. The search continued until 10,000 years after she was missing, then they called off the search claiming that it was a hopeless situation. Long after that, one gem eventually found her. That gem was White Corundum. Black had trusted White for a long time, so she trusted her with the knowledge of her location. White kept her promise, but she did tell three other gems where she was: Yellow, Pink, and I. We knew of her history from White's tales of the past but did not trust her. But Pink, she was nothing like us. She had met Black Corundum, and she trusted Black with everything. The knowledge had reached us, and as a result, we forbade her from going again. She deliberately disobeyed us." Cyan was angered at that last statement.

"Hmm." Bubblegum Pearl was looking through a pink screen, records of several gems. "The name doesn't pop up here. Does she have an identification cut?"

Cyan thought for a moment.

"Facet-001, Cut-1XB. At least that's what White had described." Cyan had seemed sure of her answer. White Corundum had told them the story of Homeworld's origin several times but went into less detail each time she told them both the same story. She did remember that code from the first three times White had told the story to her. This was before Cyan had met Yellow, the light in her life. Her shining diamond.

Pearl had scrolled through several documents, only to narrow her eyes.

"Nothing pops up, still. Only 1XA is present in the archive. 1XA being a White Corundum. Perhaps her records were erased from the system?"

"Maybe it's because she's declared missing?" Cyan had questioned. "Or maybe they think she's dead?"

"No, it can't be. White is dead, and she still shows up in the archive." Yellow had responded. "She deserves to be forgotten, anyway."

"Forget about Black! What about Aqua and Pink? They're right with her! Who knows what sort of horrible thing she's doing to them?" Periwinkle Pearl had called out. "We have to find them, quickly! Where is Black hidden?"

"She's hidden in an area that's usually only accessible by- oh, Pink! Why did you have to do it?!" Cyan had said, then realizing how she got there.

"What is it?" Bubblegum Pearl had questioned.

"They most likely used a Warp Pad. Those can be monitored! If the Peridots check the warp logs, we'll be finished!" Cyan had panicked. She kept on running across the room in a panic. "We have no time, let's go get them!" She grabbed all of the gems except Yellow and ran out. She then walked back in to check in on Yellow.

"Hey, do you want to go? I know how you feel about her and-"

"No, go on without me. I'll stay here. Please, come back safe. She's capable of so much, I don't want you to suffer the price of making her angry." Yellow had begged of Cyan. "And tell Pink that she's in deep trouble."

"Got ya. Stay safe, boo." Cyan bid her farewell. She then followed the other gems she just threw out the door in pursuit of Aqua and Pink. The worst had to be prevented, after all. Pink was the only Corundum she had left that wasn't her golden diamond, Yellow Corundum. Her old friends were gone, her mentor was gone, her rivals were gone. It was just her, her lover, their 'child' and (possibly) the Corundum she hated more than any other gem. Even more than Rose Quartz and the rest of the Crystal Gems.

Cyan wanted nothing more than to be the one to shatter Black Corundum if she was still alive.

 

Yellow wondered how big the mistake she had just made was.

 

\---

 

"Black Diamond? I thought there had been only four Diamonds before m-!" Aqua had clamped her mouth shut. She almost revealed her darkest secret to a complete stranger! _'Come on Aqua, be a little more careful!'_ she mentally lectured herself.

"Of course you wouldn't know her. You're a newer gem. Well, I can't really blame you. The current matriarchs of Homeworld have attempted to cover up her existence. They would like the thought of a Diamond being shattered to be a blasphemous thought to other gems." She had told Aqua. She had her arms crossed behind her back, her face had a bit of a saddened expression. "Such a shame. They cannot accept reality even if it was shown right in front of their faces." Now she was just pacing around the room, possibly reflecting on her past.

Pink was visibly hesitant.

“Actually, Black, remember how I said that there was a Pink Diamond? Well, she was shattered while giving a speech on her first colony. It’s a pretty long story, the basic idea is that a Quartz that was made on that colony started a rebellion with several other gems, including Pink Diamond’s second Pearl. Hundreds of years later, their leader decided to shatter Pink in front of her entire court and other gems. So, there’s no point in keeping Black Diamond’s shattering a secret anymore.” Pink was getting more and more depressed as she went on. Thinking about her Diamond frequently did that to her.

Black had stayed silent. After the silence, she did something that both Aqua and Pink didn’t expect. She _laughed_. Her laughter was so loud that it could be heard from the outside of the room. She seemed to not take this claim seriously at all.

“You… Do you really think she’s dead?! Don’t be absurd!” Black continued to laugh. Her mouth is covered by her hand. “The only gems who are really dead that have been mentioned so far are White Corundum and My Diamond!” Black kept on laughing.

“She is really dead! I saw her shattering firsthand! You have to believe me!” Pink had tried to get her to take this seriously.

“If she was truly gone, how do you explain _this_?” Black had started. Pink was about to ask her what she meant, but was interrupted by a glow from Black’s gem. Pink fell unconscious, with Aqua watching in suspense.

“What did you do to her?!” Aqua had demanded Black to tell her what she had just done. She had her doubts about Black from the first mention, but this was the greatest she had ever doubted her. “Answer me!”

“I did not harm her. I would never do such a thing to her. I’m just showing her exactly what she wants to know…” Black had said, a bit ominously. “She will get back up soon, but she won’t know what’s going on around her. She will only see and hear what I am projecting to her.”

“And what is it that you are projecting?” Aqua had asked Black.

 

\---

 

“Ok, so the only way to get to them is through the warp pad. Unless you want to spend about four days traveling on foot.” Cyan had told the Pearls and Sapphire. “It’s going to be very difficult with just the four of us. If there were five of us, we would be unstoppable. But we only have four lone gems, without their trusted partners… but it’s going to be okay! I don’t need her to be with me to be strong, I’m always strong, right guys?” Cyan had asked the three gems in her party, almost desperate for them to answer.

“It’s only been about forty-five seconds and you’re already freaking out. Seems like we have nothing to worry about.” Periwinkle Pearl had said sarcastically. “Relax, Cyan, relax. Why did Yellow even stay put?”

“She...uh… had to interrogate that Heliodor. We need to get more info out of her about who sent her… and stuff. I’ll be fine… it’s just that Yellow and I are almost always together nowadays. Before the whole assassination thing, we were used to being separated. Blue and Yellow Diamond mostly did colony stuff, so we contacted each other through messages. We rarely saw each other after about three hundred years after I was made. We used to hate each other’s guts. Now, I rely on her for strength. She isn’t physically strong, not at all. But, she gives me the strength to keep fighting, especially when we fuse.” Cyan’s eyes shimmered while she said this. She seemed to really like talking about Yellow.

“Alright, that’s enough dwelling on the past. We need to focus on the task at hand: getting Aqua and your friend back.” Bubblegum Pearl had told Cyan.   
“Where will we need to warp to?”

“The Ancient Plaza meters under the planet’s surface. The only reason the warp pad is still active is for historical preservation. The terraforming gems did a number on the planet. Such a huge number that the old plaza is nothing but ruins nowadays. No gems keep it up to today’s standards. It’s merely a relic of what it once was: a place for all gems to bask in the presence of the Diamonds. Now, well, they’re more secluded and closed off from their gems. The more gems that were made, the less they showed themselves to the public. Anyway, that’s where we need to go.” Cyan had told the Pearl.

“...Can we go before my vision comes true and this Corundum keeps us from our destination by talking about the history we do not need to hear?” Sapphire had told the three gems.

“...Oh! Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure.” Cyan had responded, seemingly unaware that she was talking a bit too much. “Get on the warp pad, all of you.”

The two Pearls had got on the warp pad, along with the Sapphire.

“Alright, let’s go before Sapphire keeps complaining about my speeches.” Cyan had told the Pearls. She glared at Sapphire a bit before getting on the warp pad herself. The warp pad then lit up, and into the warp stream the four went.

 

\---

 

Pink Corundum awoke in a strange place. She was on some sort of purple rock. When she looked up, she could see Injectors designed for making gems along with what looked like exit holes about the size of a Quartz gem. She concluded that this was a Kindergarten on another planet. The question was which planet it was. How did she even get there?

Her thoughts were cut short by a familiar voice.

She immediately hid behind one of the Injectors. Just in case the newcomer was hostile. That voice turned into multiple different voices. Some of which she recognized. She then peered from out of the Injector only to flinch at what she saw.

A gem she knew very well. Two in fact. Rose Quartz and her former colleague: Pink Diamond’s second Pearl. The _renegade_ Pearl. There were two other gems there as well, a tall gem she did not know the name of and what seemed like a very short Amethyst soldier. The Amethyst seemed to be a bit shocked at the appearance of the other three gems. Perhaps she has newly emerged? Now, two facts were clear.

She was on Earth. The Diamonds’ attack on the planet did not completely obliterate the gems that remained there. Rose Quartz being present was proof of that. Justice hadn’t been served to the Crystal Gems after all. It seemed that they were still thriving on the abandoned colony.

The question was this: how many gems survived the blast?

If Pink wasn’t an outlaw, she would have attempted to apprehend Rose and the other gems right then and there. Perhaps it would have been a death sentence, but she did not care. She wished to shatter Rose herself to avenge her Diamond’s death. No matter how impossible it was.

“You’re perfect just the way you are, Amethyst. No matter how you look, you will always be what you are on the inside. And what you are is a brave little gem who spent years in this abandoned place alone without any sort of guidance. You can stay with us from now on. We will guide you down the right path. We will train you to be a Crystal Gem.” Rose had told the Amethyst, her eyes brimming with passion.

“Welcome to the team.” The tall gem had added.

“What shall we start with? Combat lessons or lessons on-?” The Renegade had spoken but was cut off by a distinct yelling voice.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!”

 

\---

 

The four gems had arrived in the plaza. A dark, ruined place filled with demolished structures. Two palace-like buildings were the tallest structures in the abandoned plaza. One was white and one was jet-black. Both were somewhat demolished, however. On the ground was a path made of now dull crystals leading to the two palaces and several abandoned buildings. Ominously, traces of gem shards could be seen scattered across the area along with traces of dried blood.

“They should be in the black palace right there. Knowing Black, she would never leave that palace unless it was an emergency.” Cyan had remarked to the group. "She's the oldest hermit known to gemkind." She joked.

"So, what's the plan? Do we ambush them? Do we just go in with a threat?" Periwinkle Pearl had asked.

"Honestly, I never thought that the day where I fought Black would come. Yellow always tells me that she's not one to be messed with, but I think we can handle her. It's gonna be five gems to one if Aqua sides with us, I know Pink won’t do it. She cares too much about that pebble. It’s an unfair fight, but a fight where we win. We'll storm her room and catch her by surprise. Then we shatter her. Let me do the honors." Cyan had told them with a smirk. "Before we do that, there's one place we need to go to in that palace."

“Which is?”

“I’ll show you. Come on, let’s go before something terrible happens.” Cyan ran into the palace afterward. The Pearls and Sapphire followed her.

“Sapphire, will Aqua be okay? Can you see her condition?” Bubblegum Pearl had asked the Sapphire.

“Hm.” Sapphire had put her hand over her bangs. “Aqua… will be fine.”

“Oh, thank the stars…” The Pearl had sighed in relief.

Sapphire remained silent.

Walking through the halls of the palace was a bit unsettling. No source of light besides the Gems’ photokinetic abilities, several signs of damage and struggle, shattered remains. What was most unsettling was the fact that there was a gem living here. The gem hadn’t bothered to clean up the mess.

“Here it is!” Cyan had motioned to a room with a broken door. It was half demolished, making it possible to see the inside. “Just step over the intact part.” She then jumped inside. “It’s alright, she probably wasn’t gonna mind anyways.”

Periwinkle Pearl hesitated for a bit. “Isn’t this technically breaking into someone’s property?”

“We’ve broken, like, several laws before this. What makes this so special?” Cyan had asked her.

“Well, the owner of this property, a one Black Corundum, could find us and shatter us. Or at the very least turn us in to the Diamonds for them to decide our fate. Is this worth the risk if she is as powerful as you say?”

“Maybe, but I won’t let a Pearl of all gems decide things for me.”

“Well, excuuuuse me, Cyan _Diamond_.” Periwinkle had mocked her. “Oh, My Diamond, my superior, my intell-”

“Shut up. Let’s just go.” She prompted for the rest to follow her. They eventually followed suit.

The room they arrived in was a large one. It had several weapons hanging on the walls, all different colors and sizes. Some of them were covered in dried blood. Many withered skeletons could be seen on the ground. The weapons consisted of cannons, swords, lances, spears, maces, etc. Basically any weapon that had been established in the past.

“Here! Sapphire, Pearls, take some weapons. They’ll be useful for the fight.” Cyan had set her eyes on a particular weapon: a blue glaive hanging on the end of the wall. She picked up the weapon and placed it in her hands, swinging it as if trying to stab the air. She was smirking and giggling to herself while doing so, signifying that she was enjoying herself. She then brought her attention to a rapier in the distance. She thought of Yellow’s inability to summon a weapon and grabbed the rapier as well. ‘It suits her.’ Cyan mentally added with a smile. She visibly blushed dark blue. The Pearls had stored a number of the weapons in their gems. Sapphire had decided on taking a pair of knuckledusters. “Move, move, move!” Cyan had yelled at them. “It’s just down the hall!”

The gems ran down the hall to find a room with two black doors, both decorated with a crystalline diamond symbol. Cyan had kicked the doors open and ran in.

It was worse than she thought.

Pink was on the ground, her eyes closed in some sort of unconscious state. She seemed to be unmoving, no trace of activity whatsoever. Had Black done this to her? Cyan was too angry to think.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!” Cyan had yelled to Black.

“So much for a surprise attack.” Bubblegum had remarked.

“Bubblegum? Periwinkle? What are you two doing here? How did the mission go? What are they planning?” Aqua had asked her Pearls, seemingly surprised by their intrusion. She was glad to see them unharmed, truly.

“Well, the Sapphires in the building weren’t directly asked to predict what our next actions were, but a pair of Heliodors did ask one that supposedly helped the Corundums disable the shield. We planned to ambush them, and that’s exactly what she predicted. But the Heliodors were too slow to react and were defeated. We have one in our clutches that Yellow is currently interrogating for more information.” Bubblegum Pearl had told Aqua.

“And the Sapphire? What became of the Sapphire?”

“She’s right here.” Periwinkle had said, presenting the Royal Blue Sapphire to Aqua. “She wants to join us in our quest for freedom.”

“It’s a pleasure.” The Sapphire had said to Aqua, bowing. “I hope you will allow me to join your entourage.”

“I will think about it. Only if you agree to do whatever I say.” Aqua had given her the condition.

Sapphire had known exactly what Aqua would ask her and exactly when she would ask for them. It wasn’t a problem for her, she was used to providing her visions of the future to other gems. She had forseen what this path had in store for her, and it was better than what Homeworld would eventually do to her. She wanted to push the limits of her future vision and attempt to do things that would cause events that even she wouldn’t predict. Was that possible? It was rare, but yes.

Pink had snapped out of her trance and looked around her. She was back on Homeworld, unfortunately. Had it all been a false vision? A fabrication by her own mind? It had to have been. Aqua was standing there, surprised. As she wondered why, she saw that Cyan was there, which made her quiver.

“Cyan! You actually came for-?”

“Save it, Pink. We’ll tell you how much trouble you’re in later. For now, I have a Corundum to beat.” Cyan seemed angry at Pink, but even angrier at Black. She was readying her newfound glaive to attack.

“Where’s Yellow?” Pink was curious. She knew Black was a sensitive topic for Yellow, but to go so far as to not show up to defend Pink? That was out of the ordinary.

“She’s interrogating a Heliodor. We’ll tell you about it later.”

“Ah, I see you’ve invited your little friends, Pink. How sweet. It’s like a little gem playdate.” Black had said mockingly. “Oh! Is that Blue Diamond’s second Corundum? What was it? Cyan Corundum? Ah, yes, I remember. You were a lot meeker in the past, you know. What happened to you? The Cyan I was familiar with was meek, bashful and pacifistic. Perhaps it was…”

“Who cares?! That was then, this is now!” Cyan was clearly offended. She ran towards Black Corundum with the glaive in front of her.

“Wait, we need to plan a strategy first!” Bubblegum Pearl had yelled to Cyan.

“This fight is on a personal level, at least to Cyan. She won’t listen to a word you say. And she will regret it immensely.” Sapphire had told the Pearls and Aqua.

“Perhaps we should help?” Aqua had suggested to her teammates.

Cyan slashed her glaive repeatedly at Black, only for her to dodge every single attack. Black had fired a beam of dark energy at Cyan, stunning her for a bit. Since gems’ forms are made of light, dark energy limits the performance of a gem’s physical form. Cyan fell to the ground.

“It’s a pity. You have no idea how to respect your elders, little one. Stop this at once and I will stand down as well.” Black had told Cyan, annoyed with her sudden unwarranted attack. “If you don’t, things could get worse.” Black’s gem glowed, seemingly to threaten Cyan.

“No… I won’t… won’t allow myself to... “ Cyan had said in an exhausted tone. She gave Black a cold stare. “Not… until… you… her…” Cyan could barely speak. Black Corundum had rested her foot on Cyan’s chest.

“Is this about your lover, perhaps?” Black had asked, almost in an amusing tone. She smiled wickedly. Cyan kept her mouth shut, which gave Black her answer.

“I’m surprised that Yellow is still active after all these years. Then again, she was always the type to go to extreme lengths to please Yellow Diamond. It’s an impressive feat, you know. For a gem to live for nearly- AGH!” Black was interrupted by a beam of energy hitting her back. She turned around to find the source: Periwinkle Pearl’s parasol. All of the gems behind her had their weapons ready, except for Pink Corundum and Aqua Aura Quartz.

“Wait! Don’t attack Black, please! She’s just misunderstood.” Pink Corundum tried desperately to convince the other gems. A look of panic could be seen across her face. “Aqua, tell them!” She looked to her leader, hoping she would provide the response she was seeking.

Bubblegum Pearl ran to Aqua, whispering something to her. “If she hits you with that beam, every single one of your abilities negate. Meaning that she and the Sapphire will know of your true identity. Think carefully about which side you will choose, Aqua.” She readied her staff just in case of a sudden attack.

Aqua had thought for a moment. After she was done, she looked at Pink.

“Sorry about this.” She said to her before turning back to the Pearls and Sapphire. “Pearls, Sapphire, get that Corundum.” Aqua had demanded of them. They followed suit and ran to Black Corundum, attempting to capture her.

“Hmph. So if it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get.” Black had said before charging her powers of dark energy, floating a bit in the process. Cyan had finally gotten up, surrounding her fists with solid ice (though weakened due to Black Corundum’s previous attack). Pink was begging them to stop, but none of them listened to her. The Pearls quickened their pace towards Black. Bubblegum attempted to fire a beam of light from her staff at her while running, while Periwinkle was firing a beam from her parasol while standing still. Black had shielded these attacks using a shield created by her abilities, retaliating with two beams of darkness, which missed Bubblegum, but hit Periwinkle, making her fall to the ground. Sapphire had used her future vision to predict Black’s next strike:

**_Black Corundum had used her dark energy to create an energy sword completely out of dark matter, using said sword to strike directly into Cyan’s form, poofing her entirely._ **

 

Cyan had successfully hit Black with a beam of ice, freezing her back a bit. Black had retaliated by blasting at her with a beam of darkness. Cyan had blocked the blast with a shield she made out of her cryokinetic abilities, then retaliated by punching her with an icy fist.

“That hurt, you know. Perhaps you weren’t as shabby at combat as I thought you were.” Black had told her. “However, I have one thing you do not possess: thousands of years of experience.” Black had said before trapping Cyan in a field of dark energy, draining her energy more and more.

“That is where arrogance gets you, young one. Into a world of pain.” Black had said. Suddenly, she felt something heavy behind her. Before she could blast it, it covered her eye, blinding her temporarily.

“Having trouble with your vision?” Sapphire had teased her, trying desperately to keep her hands on the Corundum’s eye. “Get her, now!” She yelled to her remaining teammates. Black was struggling to break free from the Sapphire’s grasp.

Aqua and Bubblegum both charged towards Black Corundum, confident in their abilities to defeat her this time.

“Wait, no! You guys don’t have to do this! Please, we can settle this if we just understand her perspective!” Pink had tried to convince them once again.

“Pink, listen to me. It’s not that we don’t trust you on your word. We do. It’s just that now is not the time for diplomatic methods. She is clearly enraged, and will stop at nothing to eliminate us. So, excuse us while we take her down.” Aqua had explained to Pink. They both charged straight for Black.

“Wait!” She called to them, only to get ignored.

Bubblegum and Aqua were about to strike at Black’s chest, but something had blocked their path: a white capsule.

The capsule opened to reveal a figure both Aqua and Bubblegum had known all too well.

White Diamond’s Pearl.

“Oh, did I ruin the fun you all were having? Such a shame. I see you all have found Black Corundum. Thank you for saving us the trouble of looking for her, White Diamond really appreciates the gesture.” She had told the three gems standing in front of her, an empty smile on her face.

“Pearl…” Pink had said, a sad tone in her voice.

Black Corundum had finally managed to get Sapphire off of her, only to see White Pearl standing right in front of her.

“You know, rather than sending your puppets to come get me, it would be more appropriate for you to come in person, White Diamond.” Black Corundum had told her. “If you’re here to apprehend me with the body of a Pearl, you’re out of your mind.”

“You know the good thing about facing gems who have just been in a fight? They are already weakened enough for me to strike.” White Pearl had retorted.

“You will not have me! Not until I-!”

Black was interrupted by a beam of white light that came from the Pearl’s remaining eye. It fired into Black’s form, turning her gem into a grayish color, draining all the colors from her form. Black could be heard screaming from the pain of it all. She said one final thing before she fell unconscious:

“Doing this will not erase the past, someone will always rediscover it. You cannot run from your past. Not now, or ever.”

Black just lay on the floor, colorless and unconscious. When she finally got up again, she had an empty look on her face. She was smiling, but not willingly. She was also in the same pose as White Pearl. The field of darkness that surrounded Cyan disappeared. Cyan’s eyes lacked pupils, her arms were covered in veins of darkness, her hair color was now midnight blue, her skin was cerulean. She was quite literally speechless and petrified.

“Cyan! What happened to you?! Are you alright?” Pink had cried out in horror. She was almost in tears. She was scared that she was going to lose another one of her maternal figures. No matter how much Cyan got on her nerves, she was still by her side, hoping this situation will get better.

“She will be fine, just not for a while.”

Pink turned around to see Sapphire, concerned about Pink’s mental state. She clasped her hands as she approached her.

“As she currently stands, she is unable to comprehend anything you say. She can feel nothing but unbearable pain and she can see nothing but the inner machinations of her mind. What she is currently seeing is what I cannot say, but the point is: she will make an almost full recovery after a given amount of time.” Sapphire had told the Corundum. “Yellow will not be pleased with her condition, I can see.”.

Pink had understood why. Yellow was always cautious about Black, labelling her abilities as “sinister” and always telling us how powerful she was compared to other Corundums. Add that to how much she cared about Cyan and you have an incredibly anxious gem.

Pink then shifted her attention to the two grayscale gems in front of them. Black Corundum had enveloped herself in a white capsule and went flying up, seemingly to White Diamond’s Ship.

“Black, wait!” Pink had called out to her. It was no use, she was already gone. “I can’t lose you too…” Pink was crying. She lost yet another one of her mentors.

“Now then, it appears you all need to be taught a valuable lesson about fleeing from the Authority.” White Pearl had told them before her gem glowed. Out of the gem came a lance, grayscale like the gem herself. “Don’t worry, after I destroy your physical forms of light, I’ll make all of your flaws disappear!”

“Pearl…” Pink had sadly said to herself.

 

\---

“Blue Diamond, I present to you: the replacement for your old, defective Corundum.” One of Blue Diamond’s Peridots had spoken. She moved out of the way and presented her with the Corundum.

The Corundum that stood before Blue Diamond had medium-length hair that went down to the back of her stomach, two light blue eyes filled with nervousness, a sky-blue sleeveless dress that went down to her knees, and baby blue socks that cut before her toes. Her rhombus-faceted, cyan colored gem was on her right arm. She was clasping her hands in nervousness, seemingly afraid to approach the fifteen-foot tall Diamond.

“My-My Diamond, it is a pleasure to s-serve you.” She managed to finally say. She had formed her hands into a diamond shape, saluting to her new superior. She looked around and saw two other tall figures behind her Diamond, as well as a smaller one next to her (she was taller than the Corundum, but shorter than the other two). One was as tall as her, the other much taller. The two, she assumed, were Yellow Diamond and White Diamond. She saw two gems standing between them: two Corundums. One had hair that spiked up to four points, her hair, skin and eyes white. She wore a gray dress with a diamond in the middle, going down to her knees. She wore gray flats on her feet. Her gem was on her forehead, a white, rhombus-faceted gem. The other had pale yellow skin, golden hair that covered her eyes with long sidebangs that reached her knees, a dandelion yellow dress with a hood and cape in the back, the brooch that tied the hood and cape was golden and adorned with a yellow diamond symbol. This dress had frills on the side and went down her feet. This Corundum’s gem wasn’t visible to her at the moment.

Next to the Yellow Corundum was a gem that was similar to the one standing next to Blue Diamond. She had pale yellow skin and yellow eyes, a yellow pixie haircut, wore a beige singlet with sheer yellow sleeves, long tangerine stockings and canary colored flats. Her cabochon gem was located on her chest. What kind of gem she was? That information was unknown to the Corundum at the time. She concluded that she was the same type of gem as the gem standing next to her Diamond.

“See, Blue? She isn’t so bad, now is she? She’s an upgrade from your previous Corundum if you’d ask me.” White Diamond had told Blue Diamond.

Blue Diamond stayed silent. She finally said something to the gem next to her.

“Come, Pearl. Let’s go to the palace.”

The Pearl followed her Diamond to the palace. Blue Diamond stopped and looked at the Corundum.

“You should come as well.” She had said softly.

The Corundum had followed Blue Diamond along with her Pearl. As she looked back, she swore she saw the Yellow Corundum giving her (at least, what appeared to be) a death glare. White Corundum had gone to Yellow and told her something. She could barely make out what the White one had said to the Yellow one.

“It’s a tragedy, what happened to Powder Blue. We all know this. But it’s not _her_ fault that she’s gone, Yellow.”

Cyan could only look forward again and follow her Diamond.

 

_To be continued..._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave your theories in the comments... I'd love to hear them.
> 
> Also, I hope the next chapter won't take this long. (I make no promises, though.)


	11. Origins: Cyan Corundum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyan recalls her past while being stuck inside her own mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT, GUYS!!! This chapter had so much, and it was very difficult to write. Not to mention that this chapter is very important to the storyline. Please enjoy, and thank you for following this story!

**_Blue Diamond’s Palace, over 30,000 years prior:_ **

  
  


Blue Diamond was combing her long, navy blue hair with her brush, Comby. Comby was pleased to serve her Diamond, she seemed cheerful whenever it was time to brush her Diamond’s long, flowing hair. Comby would sing to Blue Diamond, pleasing Blue with her songs. The fact that Comby was taller than Corundum herself was terrifying to her.

 

Blue Diamond's Pearl was standing next to Corundum with her hands clasped together. She watched as her Diamond groomed herself in preparation of presenting herself to the subjects of her court. After all, even during these dark times, a Diamond must always look presentable to her loyal subjects.

 

No matter how grim the current situation on Homeworld looked.

 

"Pearl? How come Blue Diamond always looks so… melancholic?" Corundum had curiously asked her companion.

 

Pearl turned her head to Corundum. She seemed almost hesitant to answer.

 

"Your predecessor, Powder Blue Corundum. She served our Diamond before you. She was recently deemed defective, and was shattered as a result. She was one of her first companions." Pearl had answered in a hushed voice, almost like a whisper. "It is best if we do not speak of her." She lowered her head after finishing the sentence.

 

She was probably right.

 

"Pearl?" Blue Diamond had addressed her servant. She was adjusting her makeup while doing so.

 

"Yes, My Diamond?" Pearl had responded. Her arms formed into the diamond salute.

 

"Please inform the members of my court that I will be addressing them shortly." Blue Diamond had ordered her Pearl. She continued to groom herself.

 

"As you wish, My Diamond." She bowed. Pearl then proceeded to form a tablet from her gemstone and type into it, sending the message out to her court members' devices.

 

"Corundum?" Blue Diamond had addressed her.

 

"Y-yes, My Diamond?" The Corundum was a bit startled.

 

"Check the status of the soldiers that were sent to the battlefield." She ordered. "The Opals in the Tower of War will inform you. Report back to me as soon as you have your information, it is crucial for the members of my court to know this information."

 

"R-right away, My Diamond." Corundum proceeded to run out the door, in a rush to get the information. She did not wish to upset her Diamond more than she already had just by existing. 

 

She tripped several times while running to her destination, which discouraged her a bit. She wasn't even halfway there yet. She has only existed for about three hours and she already sucked at her job?  That wasn't good. Not at all. It was the exact opposite of good.

 

Before she knew it, she saw two familiar faces in the hallway. She tried to slow down, but crashed into one of the two gems, knocking them both over.

 

"Are you two alright?" The other gem had asked. She seemed concerned with their condition. Her hand was on her mouth, seemingly shocked at the sudden collapse of both gems.

 

“Ugh… you should really… watch where you’re going, rookie.” The gem she had collapsed on had told her.

 

It was the Yellow Corundum from before. The White Corundum was the one looking out for them. She really screwed up this time.

 

“Sorry...sorrysorrysorrysorry!” The Cyan Corundum had repeatedly apologized to Yellow. “I was in a hurry… I have orders to carry out for Blue Diamond… I-”

 

“Please, be more careful. You could have bumped into a higher ranking gem. Now  _ that _ would have been a disaster. But you are new… so I shouldn’t expect you to know that.” Yellow sighed, shaking her head in disappointment.

 

"I said I was sorry."

 

"What were these orders you had to carry out to Blue Diamond anyway? Something having to do with the current war?" Yellow had ignored her.

 

"How did you-?"

 

"My Diamond commands the military. I assist her in commanding her troops. The ongoing war with those organics is looking bleak with the amount of troops decreasing by the double every single month. However, with the correct strategy, we definitely can manage to purge them once and for all." She explained to Cyan.

 

"If that's the case, why don't all three Diamonds just participate in the war?" Cyan questioned her.

 

"My Diamond and her colleagues don't participate in wars like these. It's a waste of time. Besides, My Diamond has already fought in an ancient war, and she doesn't wish to trouble herself with another." White Corundum stepped in on the conversation. "You should really get going, The Opals await your arrival."

 

"See you around, rookie." Yellow had coldly added.

 

And with that, she kept on moving.

 

\---

  
  
  


Finally, the Corundum reached the Tower of War. She stepped inside to find several Quartzes, Rubies, Opals, Ulexites, Agates, and Corundums. They were seemingly planning a strategy to topple the opposition.

 

"They've already taken down a battalion of Quartzes, all because of their intricate knowledge of our race! Our best bet is an ambush on their hideout!" An Agate yelled out.

 

"I agree with Agua Nueva. The organics are relentless beings that will stop at nothing to cause ruin to our empire. Killing them all in one fell swoop is the right way to put an end to this." A Lavender Corundum had argued in favor of the Agate.

 

"They will be anticipating that, and we will only lose more gems." A Ulexite retorted. "I have been watching the organics, they are intelligent yet cunning." 

 

All of the gems in the party then set their sights on Cyan.

 

This made her sweat bullets in anxiety.

 

"You're Blue Diamond's Corundum, right? Tell these numb rocks that the best strategy is an ambush!" Lavender had demanded of Cyan. “Agua and I know best.” She slammed her fist on the desk they have gathered around.

 

“No, no. Inform these two that their flawed strategy will not work.” Ulexite had demanded.

 

Cyan was being pressured, and she didn’t like pressure. Is this what it meant to serve a Diamond? Who would she even side with? What’s this war even about?

 

“Really, Lavender? You’re going to crack the rookie with so much pressure.”

 

A voice snapped her out of her bubble of anxiety.

 

It was Yellow Diamond’s Corundum. She stepped in, silencing all other voices in the room.

 

“Why is it that every single time there’s an argument in this room, it always starts with you and your partner in crime? Please explain that to me.” Yellow had confronted Lavender Corundum and Agua Nueva Agate. “Don’t answer that. It’s obviously because of your arrogance.”

 

“Don’t give me that attitude, Yellow. You don’t control me. We aren’t even in the same court. You’re Yellow Diamond’s property, and I’m Blue’s. Sure, you directly serve Yellow, but at least I’m not a Diamond’s responsibility.” Lavender retorted.

 

“Alright you two, stand down.” A Black Crystal Opal had ordered them.

 

“Yes, My Opal.” Both of them said at the same time.

 

“Both of you were ordered by the Diamonds to come to this place?” She asked Yellow and Cyan.

 

“Correct. Show me the status of our soldiers fighting the war.” Yellow had ordered the Opal in front of her.

 

“Of course. Lavender, Agua Nueva, please guide our guests to the information room.” Crystal had ordered her gems. Both of them complied, it would be insane not to. They would both be shattered for disobedience. Agua didn’t seem to mind it, but Lavender was a bit annoyed.

 

The Agate had guided them both to the information room. Her Corundum companion would occasionally glare at Yellow and then look back ahead. Cyan was almost tempted to ask why, but she didn’t want to be shattered on the first day she was put into service. 

 

Finally, after an awkward two minutes, they arrived at the information and statistics room. Agua Nueva Agate walked towards a screen showcasing the status of multiple soldiers logged on to the database of Homeworld. The contemporary technology on Homeworld was the most advanced in the galaxy (and perhaps even the universe) and with this, it proves that. However, the organics they were facing in the war had technology that would permanently disable or remove certain aspects of a gem’s form and even shatter their gemstones. That alone deterred their insurance of their victory. The Diamonds weren’t very concerned about losing, they only addressed the war to ease the other gems’ fears of the empire collapsing. It would not. Not as long as the Diamonds reigned supreme.

 

"We have six battalions in perfect condition, and four wounded or shattered." The Agate had provided them with the information they sought. "The Opals in charge of war estimate that the war will go on for another few hundred years before coming to a stop."

 

Yellow Corundum seemed to be taking mental notes. She had a hesitant look on her face (or seemed to have; her eyes were always covered by her hair).

 

"A question, Agate; how are they keeping up with our armies?" Yellow had curiously asked.

 

"Well… there are rumors of them using specialized weaponry that can alter their physical forms in a way that can permanently damage their form and therefore limiting their performance, making them incapable of keeping their jobs going." The Agate had told her. "Otherwise I don't have a clue. In a fortnight, Lavender and I will be sent to fight them as well. If we make it back, we will confirm or debunk those rumors."

 

"Interesting. Thank you, Agate. I look forward to speaking with you and your Opal again next year." Yellow Corundum had expressed. "Also, please excuse her, she's a rookie who just got herself into serving Blue Diamond with no prior experience. She's a bit jumpy." She turned to Cyan.

 

This offended her just a little bit.

 

"I see. Please give My Diamond our regards for us." The Agate had told Cyan.

 

Lavender Corundum gave a silent death glare to Yellow before she left with her.

  
  


\---

  
  


They both silently walked back to their Diamonds' respective palaces.

 

A lingering question was on her mind, so much so that she didn't even care about how Yellow would react anymore.

 

"So… how should I put this? When you were made, how did it feel to be serving such an important gem?" Cyan had asked Yellow. Immediately after, she regretted it. Those feelings could potentially be personal, after all.

 

Yellow simply stared at her. Cyan knew it was a personal question, but she asked anyway. What was she thinking?!

 

"Nearly everything from when I was first made is nothing but a blur in my memories." Yellow had started speaking, much to Cyan's surprise. She blushed a bit and frantically flailed her arms.

 

"W-wait, you don't have to answer the question! I was just curious and I don't want you to be uncomfortable by telling me!" Cyan had desperately tried to convince her companion to stop.

 

"No, it's alright. As I was saying, for an odd reason, I cannot remember the majority of my first days of existence. The earliest thing I can recall is being presented to My Diamond. All I felt then was confusion. I felt like I had to remember something, but never did. I knew nothing from the amount of time I was already in existence to when I was presented to Yellow Diamond." She tried to explain her thoughts.

 

"Is it normal for gems to forget their early lives after time passes?" Cyan had asked.

 

"...No. Usually they remember where they're from and how they came to be. At least, the gems that I've seen emerge firsthand; the gems from Yellow Diamond's many colonies made by the work of her Peridots and careful planning from both My Diamond and myself. They all emerge knowing their purpose and how to carry it out, just like you, am I correct?"

 

"Yes. I know how to strategize and properly store important information deep in my memory, as well as project my plans… am I missing any key components of a Corundum?" Cyan had asked Yellow. The last thing she wanted to be was an off-colored gem who served a Diamond. That would be bad for everyone, wouldn't it?

 

"No, you're a perfectly normal Corundum. You have every bit of programming you should have, there aren't any defects as far as I can see." Yellow had tried to make Cyan worry a bit less. "Anyway, you should scurry back to Blue Diamond, rookie. You'll make her crack if you're late."

 

Cyan had almost forgotten about Blue Diamond during the conversation. She panicked internally.

 

"You're right! I need to go… bye!" She jetted.

 

She then noticed the look of existential dread on Yellow’s face. What was she making that face for? This was a far cry from the Yellow she barely knew. Normally she had a serious demeanor. She had no time to ponder about it, her duties came first.

  
  


\---

 

Cyan had opened the door to her Diamond's chambers. Her Diamond was sitting patiently on a cushioned seat ten feet from where the pool of water was. Her Pearl was standing next to the entrance, awaiting her next order.

 

"Corundum, I assume you have the report?" Blue Diamond had addressed Corundum. She had a slightly annoyed look on her face, her only visible eye staring right at Corundum, the other covered by her long hair.

 

"Y-yes, My Diamond. Six battalions of soldiers are still fighting in the war, four are unable to carry out their duties any longer. Black Crystal Opal's Agate had informed me that the Opals estimated that the war will go on for a few hundred years more."

 

Blue Diamond sighed. "Of course, the organics are just delaying their inevitable fate. They're just persistent." She swept the hair in front of her eye back. "I believe it is time for me to address my court with this information. Come now." Blue Diamond stood up and walked towards the exit of her room, Pearl and Corundum following.

 

They walked across the crystal blue hall of Blue Diamond's palace, to a lift. This lift took them up to Blue Diamond's ship, a ship shaped in the form of an enormous left hand. To the other gems, it was a right hand. This symbolizes the place of Blue Diamond on the Diamond Insignia: the lowest Diamond, barely catching up to Yellow Diamond in terms of colony count and the newest Diamond in the Great Diamond Authority. 

 

Once inside the ship, Blue Diamond had pulled up a projecting screen in order to address the members of her court. Every gem who belonged to her would see this broadcast.

 

"To all who see this message, this is the annual public war status. Six battalions of our soldiers still remain, more than half of the soldiers commissioned. I assure you all, they are still going strong and will triumph against our opponents. This war will be over very soon, no need to fear. That is all." She had finished.

 

"Pearl, set the coordinates for the moon of Clovius." Blue Diamond had commanded her Pearl. Clovius was her latest planned colony. She mainly stayed in her Moon Bases in order to oversee the production of her colonies as well as keep in contact with her Nephrites and other gems in charge of completing the process of colonization. This planet had not yet undergone that process; Powder Blue Corundum's sudden replacement delayed the production of the colony. Only the Moon Base had been constructed on its moon.

 

The ship took off, heading for the planned colony.

 

\---

 

Blue Diamond was controlling the ship's motions with her left hand synched to the ship's systems. Her Pearl was controlling the ship's destination coordinates while her Diamond did so. That left Corundum to monitor the status of the ship's internal machinations to check for any possible malfunctions. The ships that belonged to the Diamonds were slightly faster than the Dropships piloted by Nephrites, making travel time shorter between Homeworld and their destinations.

 

Hours later, they approach their destination. Corundum could see the planet they were looking to colonize and she had to say; it seemed to be a promising colony. 

 

The planet's surface was seemingly composed of mostly blue sand with an abundance of minerals on the surface. There were large bodies of water as well, both factors contribute to the type of gems that will eventually be produced on the planet as well as their abilities. This planet would most likely produce gems with psammokinesis or gems that have a hue similar to the rocks in their Kindergartens. An abundance of Desert Glasses should be able to easily produce on this planet.

 

All Corundum needed to do was figure out how to turn the planet into a successful colony.

 

Before she could think of anything else, the ship reached its destination: the planet's moon.

 

The area had several organic beings surrounding the newly-built base, who were all chased off by the sight of the ship. Most of them being rodent-like creatures capable of burying into sand. These organics would be spared of eradication due to the colonization process.

 

The same couldn't be said for the ones on the planet itself. 

 

The interior of the base was very large (at least to Corundum). It was navy blue, decorated with murals of the three Diamonds (White, Yellow, and Blue) on the walls. The symbol of the Authority was depicted on the floor (A white diamond on top, a yellow diamond on the left, and a blue diamond on the right), with each diamond facing the mural corresponding to that symbol. A very large staircase had lead up to the Mapped Room: A room showcasing Homeworld’s star maps. A significant feature of the room was the observation orb, which could be used to show live feed of the planned colony, which was useful for observing the colony’s surroundings and predicting what gems the Kindergartens will produce. Finally, there was the Control Room. It contained a computer which would eventually be used to hold information regarding the colony plans, such as the structures and Kindergarten locations. It also had a chair for Blue Diamond to sit on while she did her work, as she would be there for long periods of time before returning to Homeworld. Both Corundum and Pearl would stand on the side of the chair (thankfully Gems can't get exhausted from standing idly for long periods of time) and inform their Diamond of any important progress on the colony. The planet could be viewed from the Moon Base's glass dome.

 

"Corundum, plan the colonization of this planet. I expect nothing less than the most effective and doable plan that is possible for a planet of this nature. Make sure it benefits us in the long run." Blue Diamond gave her orders.

 

"Right away, My Diamond!" She saluted before projecting a hologram of the planet standing before them from the gem on her right arm. The hologram would shift from time to time, until an idea was finalized.

 

"I hope this is adequate, My Diamond." She had bowed.

 

\---

  
  


_ Homeworld; hundreds of years later _ :

  
  


The Diamonds had enough. The war still raged on even after the generation of organics that started it had long died. Not to say that they were losing, however. This war needed to end for one reason: it delayed the Diamonds’ complete reign of the star system. That planet the organics had inhabited was the last of the bunch that hadn’t been conquered. It had the potential to be an incredibly successful colony, and the Diamonds wanted that to happen as soon as possible. A last resort was needed, and fast.

 

Blue Diamond was preoccupied with the production of more Lapis Lazuli gems on her newest colony’s kindergartens. Having more of those gems would make it easier to terraform her colonies. These Lapises were under the management of Corundum herself; a fitting role considering Corundums were strategists, high ranking gems that stood just above Morganites in the caste system. They could own lower gems such as Pearls or Rubies to assist them in their plans. However, Corundums could also be owned by elite gems for various reasons. Corundums who were directly owned by Diamonds were known as the "lucky ones" in their cut. The Diamond-owned Corundums served to both plan out colonies and command gems such as Nephrites and Peridots when their Diamonds were busy with other important duties.

 

Corundum barely saw Yellow or White Corundum these days. It's been almost three hundred years since their last interaction, and that was the first time they met. It made sense why that was the case; they had their own Diamonds to satisfy, as well as their own gems to manage. Another factor to consider was that White and Yellow Diamond kept to themselves most of the time, leaving Blue with only Corundum herself and her Pearl.

 

It was no surprise that Blue Diamond was always depressed; she was, after all, very lonesome. She had no choice but to do White's bidding and carry on with the production of her colonies and gems. It was the only thing that she could do in her isolation from the other Diamonds. She had to play her part as a leader of gem society and enforce the rules White Diamond had put into place at the start of the Gem Empire.

 

No matter how miserable doing so secretly made her.

 

On the subject of the Lapis Lazulis, the many that were in the command of Corundum were actively terraforming Clovius into a planet that would be truly worth the title of "colony". So far, only forty-two of the sixty-six planned Kindergartens were formed on the planet. It was a relatively average-sized planet, nothing too extravagant compared to some of her other colonies. The Bismuths (who were also in her command) were actively constructing structures for the aristocratic gems on that same planet; namely arenas, spires, and temples. The colony had to be perfect, just like every other.

 

Because this was Blue Diamond's first colony that had been constructed and planned with her new Corundum, it meant for her that she had to go all out with the colony plans in order to prove her worth. And that was exactly what she did.

 

The current plan called for sixty-six Kindergartens, thirty-nine spires, ten arenas, twenty Galaxy Warps, several Communication Hubs, and several other locations (some hidden). This would ultimately exterminate all traces of organic life on the planet; the plants, the creatures, all of it would be gone in just a few years. These organics didn't have much time left. It was a small price to pay for perfection.

 

The gems that emerged from the Kindergartens were mostly terraforming gems such as Desert Glasses and Lapis Lazulis. Other than that, they produced many Quartzes and even some Sapphires and Garnets. A success so far, being that none of them were visibly defective, they were just incredibly average. That was just fine, considering they all did their jobs correctly. The Quartzes also provided decent entertainment in their arena battles and performed well as guards for elite gems.

 

While all of the processes were being done, Blue Diamond, her Pearl and Corundum had briefly returned to Homeworld in order to meet with the other Diamonds. It was a mandatory meeting, as it was White Diamond who called the meeting "urgent". If it was White Diamond's wording, it  _ had _ to be urgent.

 

Blue had docked her ship on her Palace, preparing to discuss the matter of urgency. Although she didn't exactly  _ know _ what White wanted to discuss, it would be foolish to be unsure in front of her. After the mental preparation, she left with her Pearl, leaving Corundum alone for a while. "I'll contact you when I need you." Blue had informed her.

 

For the first time in her life, Corundum was truly alone. Nothing to do except await her Diamond's commands. She stood for a few minutes before coming up with an idea of what to do in this period of time.

 

She exited the room, going down the hall over to another Diamond's section of the Diamonds' Palace.

 

After several minutes, she reached her destination.

 

Yellow Diamond's Quarters.

 

A large door stood in front of the Corundum, guarded by two Topaz guards. Upon inspection of the approaching gem, they immediately lowered their weapons. This unnerved Corundum just a little bit. It was understandable considering that they were almost twice her size and looked like they could destabilize her at any given moment. How horrifying.

 

Corundum had activated the Diamond chime, hoping that  _ she _ was inside.

 

No more than thirty seconds later, the door opened to reveal the gem she wanted to see: Yellow Corundum. She looked the same as when they first met, which likely meant that her form hadn't been destroyed since then. She was seemingly surprised at the sight of the other Corundum in front of her.

 

"Rookie. It's been a while." She addressed the Cyan Corundum in front of her. "Blue Diamond left you as well?" 

 

"You know it." Cyan had responded. "And yes, it has been a while."

 

"I was about to go find White until you came. She's isolated herself from all gems ever since last year and I wanted to get to the bottom of it." Yellow had told her.

 

"Where do you think she would be?"

 

"She's in White Diamond's Engineering Chamber. I know for a fact that she is. It's her own personal space after all."

 

\---

  
  


The two Corundums had opened the door to the Engineering Chamber. It was a dimly lit room that was off limits to the general public, the pair only getting in due to brainwashing (if you can call it that; gems had no brains) the guards into letting them in with their abilities. They had that ability as an "emergency ability" in case of insubordination from other gems. Unfortunately, it had its limits. Only gems with a weak mental state were able to be manipulated in that way.

 

The walls were decorated with murals of several gems; some recognizable, some difficult to identify. The Diamonds were all depicted, of course. Their Pearls and Corundums were also depicted, which was unusual for murals like these. Yellow and White Corundum were depicted alongside their Diamonds and their Pearl companions, but Cyan wasn't with Blue Diamond. A different Corundum was. One with short hair and a ribbon on the back of her hair. 

 

'Powder Blue…' Cyan had figured it out.

 

However, there was a gem mural in between Yellow and White Diamond that they both couldn't recognize. This one was black in color, and had a Pearl depicted with a Corundum as well. The Pearl's gem placement matched the mystery gem's; a gem on their forehead. It was hard to tell in the Corundum's case; her eyes were covered behind her hair.

 

Before they could question it any further, an alarmed White Corundum ran towards them both.

 

"H-hey! What are you two doing here?! This area is off limits to you both! How did you get past the Agates?" She had scolded them.

 

"We have mental manipulation abilities, remember? We used them on the guards. Also, it's nice to see you too." Yellow had responded.

 

"Alright, just come with me. But you have to leave right after I show you this, don't look at anything but the door on your way out, and don't let anyone see you or else my gem will be nothing but shards." White had warned them. Immediately after, she went back to her alarmed state. "Cyan, before anything else, let me talk to Yellow alone." She requested.

 

"Sure, White. But what-?" 

 

"There's a reason I said  **_alone._ ** " Her pupils disappeared once she responded, signifying her annoyance. She then pulled Yellow aside for about two minutes, whispering something unintelligible to her while she responded back a few times. After they were done, Yellow seemed a bit confused. 

 

"Alright, follow me." White acted as if nothing happened between the two. Not even a minute after, they set their eyes on an enormous object in the room: an incredibly large Gem Injector. The two looked in astonishment, they had never seen anything like it. Of course, Cyan had only been in existence for three hundred and fifty-eight years, but all the Injectors she had seen were  **definitely** not this big. Maybe her predecessor had, but it was unlikely that she would have seen something like this if Yellow hadn't.

 

"Behold, my newest project! This thing can wipe out an entire planet with just one injection. It then uses all the resources of that planet to create a single gem." She had explained.

 

"Just one gem?" Yellow had questioned.

 

"Yep. And not just any gem. A  **Diamond** ."

 

The pair nearly lost their minds after that sentence. A Diamond? A fourth Diamond? There had only been three for millenia, so why was there a sudden need for another?

 

"It's all loaded up with the necessary materials, including the fluids needed. All we need to do is pick the right planet to provide us with the necessary resources." White had continued. "I have a hunch of which planet My Diamond will choose, though."

 

"But why? Why make another Diamond?" Yellow had questioned White.

 

"To end the stupid war, of course. This Diamond will be our secret weapon. My Diamond is planning on gathering all of the Diamonds to the organics' home planet and obliterating them all in order to make a colony out of said planet and gather the technology they used to incapacitate our armies. Now leave, the meeting will end soon and right after it does, we will put this plan into action." White had demanded of them.

 

Both obeyed, but felt uncomfortable as White had to watch them leave to prevent them from looking at anything else.

 

They then headed to their respective Diamonds' Chambers.

 

As soon as Corundum returned, Blue Diamond contacted her.

 

"Corundum, there is a very important business that we must attend to. This will end the war, and take the burden off of our shoulders."

  
  


\---

  
  


_ A few days later; Planet Makuyuu: _

  
  


The three Diamonds had boarded their respective ships and combined them to form the Diamond Mech. Their Corundums and Pearls were present as well, ready to enact their plan: a last resort annihilation of those damned organics. An end to the series of wars they have caused, and an end to their species.

 

"Start the Injector's processes. Watch for any activity on the planet." White Diamond had contacted Yellow and Blue with her orders. 

 

After a few hours, it was evident that the process was taking a toll on the planet itself, many of the planet's plates being separated and igniting from the sudden drainage of resources. The planet's once green surface was darkening very quickly. Oh well, its sister planet with similar resources would have to be colonized instead. This one doesn't stand a chance now, every single ounce of resource being drained to create a single Diamond.

 

After about forty-six hours, the destruction of the planet was done. A gem emerged from its surface, the Diamond. She was pink in hue, had pale pink hair that was positioned forward, similar to the hair of Yellow Diamond. She wore a dark pink dress that went down to her thighs, white tights, and pink flats. She had a four-pointed star shaped cut near her navel, surrounding her gem: a pink Diamond that had a similar cut and facet to White Diamond's gem, only being upside down.

 

She was  **Pink Diamond** . 

 

She, as expected, stood at the height of a newly-emerged Diamond. A mere seven feet. She had room to grow, definitely. Only Diamonds could truly grow.

 

Blue Diamond approached Pink Diamond, talking her into going with them to the planet of the organics. Though, it is unknown exactly what she said to convince her.

 

Once the four Diamonds had arrived at the planet, all of the gems fighting in the war were astonished. Not only because of the appearance of the Diamonds, but also because of the unfamiliar Diamond. 

 

The four Diamonds combined their aura powers, which lit up the night sky of the planet. And then, it happened.

 

98% of all organics on the planet were nothing more than piles of ash, leaving their weapons and the gems in the Diamonds' armies undamaged.

 

Homeworld had won, this time for good. The surviving organics had surrendered. The Gems now had access to their technology, all of it.

  
  


\---

 

The next few thousand years were interesting.

 

Clovius had finally finished its colonization process. Everything in the plans were done, all of the resources were drained, all of the Kindergarten gems had emerged, Gems were making use of the new structures. It was a successful first colony under Cyan's advisory. All of the organics on that planet were no more, but that meant that they made the most of its resources. All that was needed now was for the next planet to be chosen to colonize.

 

Pink Diamond made her proper introduction into the Diamond Authority after hundreds of years, making an impression on the Gems of Homeworld. She was… cheerful to say the least. The Palace had expanded to make room for her, but she wasn't granted her own personal ship. She had to earn the trust of the other Diamonds first.

 

A new activity the Diamonds had participated in was joining Blue Diamond in her Pool Chamber and playing a game that involved Pink Diamond singing at the bottom of the pool and having the other three Diamonds guess the song, being difficult due to the lack of intelligible communication that could be done underwater. It was the happiest Blue had ever been that Corundum had witnessed, Blue Pearl agreeing on that matter. This also meant that the three Corundums had spent more time together as well. Homeworld had suddenly become a more cheerful place to Corundum. She became more attached to the presence of her fellow Corundums, White being a great instructor, while Yellow was… interesting company.

 

Cyan also got to know Blue Pearl more. With less colony preparation having to be done for the time being, there was more time for them to interact without it being for business purposes. In this time, Pearl admitted her love of art to Corundum, which led to Corundum requesting Pearl to draw her. The two also discussed their Diamond, what she was like in earlier times, and what she thought of Powder Blue. In this period, she learned that Powder Blue had a soft, caring personality and was "very close to Yellow Corundum" in Pearl's words. She had only been deemed defective after her gem was cracked by unknown means, White Diamond seeing no hope in restoring it back. 

 

Pink Diamond started spending more time with Yellow and Blue Diamonds, which provided them with a companion to talk to. Corundum and Pearl often had to watch her, though. Pink Diamond had no Gems of her own yet, so Corundum decided to tell her some stories of the galaxy. Pink intently listened, the increasing wonder in her eyes visible. 

 

It was around this time that the three Diamonds realized something: Pink needed a Pearl to entertain her when they couldn't do so. They couldn't keep doing it forever, not when there was colony work to do. Blue was especially excited about the idea of Pink having her own Pearl, mainly wanting to be the one to give it to her. The look on her face would be worth the trouble of requesting the Pearl.

 

It was also around this time that White, Yellow, and Blue Diamond became a bit more authoritative, and changed their forms to represent that. Blue Diamond now had medium-length alice blue hair, which had a loop that spread right below her gem. She wore a long blue dress instead of robes, and her right eye was no longer covered by her hair. The dress had a hood that she mainly wore when she ventured into other planets or was in the presence of her court. She also grew several feet in height. Pink also changed her form, but for a different reason: her old form no longer appealed to her. Her hair was fluffier, the dress was no more, instead being a pink and white skirt on top of puffy pants, a top which cut at her midriff to reveal her gem, and her shoes now had white balls on the tips. She also wore gloves and had pink and white shoulder pads.

 

Blue Diamond had presented Pink's new Pearl to her in a clamshell-like box, which opened to reveal the Pearl. Pink loved her new Pearl, and Blue loved seeing Pink happy.

 

After all these years, Blue conquered a total of ten colonies. She set her sights on a new colony: The sister planet of Makuyuu, Florena. The planet was thriving with plant life, and had a few live organic beings as well. This planet would produce several gems of different colors, and be plentiful in resources.

 

This time, Blue Diamond had a special request for Corundum.

 

"Make a Corundum for Pink. I want her to be as perfect as possible for her." She ordered Corundum.

 

Corundum had no choice had to obey. Making a gem specifically for a Diamond was a daunting task, and a difficult one at that. The gem would have to have matching personalities to their owner unless specified, and have the same gem placement. Of course, she couldn't be defective either. That would be bad for both her and the gem in question. It was a challenge she was willing to accept. She readied the plans for Kindergarten locations and commanded her gems to prepare for colonization.

 

She also made one Kindergarten specifically for making Corundum-type Gems. The problem with that was that there was a random chance of the gems being Corundums. They could also be a Ruby or Sapphire, not that her Diamond would mind, as long as at least one perfect Pink Corundum was produced in the Kindergarten. A brief discussion with the Lapis Lazulis and Nephrites was needed for this to happen.

 

After several years, the gems of the Kindergarten were ready to emerge. Corundum personally went down to the colony to witness the creation of these gems, wanting to personally witness if the experiment was a success. It wasn't the same watching it from the Moon Base's Observation Orb. 

 

Many, many Rubies emerged from the Kindergarten. They were more common than the other two types after all. Only five Sapphires emerged, being mostly blue except for one which was a purple hue. Finally, eight Corundums burst from the ground. Two of which were blue, one was green, the rest were pink. Their gem placements varied, but Cyan was able to see one that had a gem on her navel, the same place as Pink Diamond had her's. She had two short, pink pigtails with ribbons tied on both, a ribbon tied around her neck, pink eyes, pink "lipstick" on her lips, a long pink dress that covered her feet, which had a diamond shaped cut on her navel, and a pink and white skirt resembling Pink Diamond's. The ribbons were actually weapons she could manipulate, as most Corundums could do if they had ribbons on their forms.

 

"Ready to serve Pink Diamond?" Cyan had asked the Pink Corundum in front of her.

 

"...I'm serving  _ her _ ?" She confusedly asked. "Was I not made for Blue Diamond?"

 

"Yes, Blue is giving you to her as a gift. Pink Diamond has no colonies of her own, and thus can't make Gems of her own. Right now, she can only obtain Gems from the Homeworld Kindergartens deep below the planet's surface and from the other Diamonds' colonies." 

 

"Oh."

 

"You're also going to be  _ directly _ serving her. Not just being in her court."

 

"W-what?"

 

“She doesn’t have a Corundum of her own, you know.”

 

The other Corundum that stood in front of Cyan seemed to be a bit anxious. Cyan had understood her feelings, she had once been in that same situation as well. Except that the Peridots in the planet she had came from immediately took her away without much explanation as to what her purpose was. Was she an independent Corundum or did she serve a higher ranked Gem than herself? They didn’t tell her. Honestly, now that she looks back to that time, it should’ve been a given that they weren’t going to say much.

 

They  _ did  _ belong to  **White Diamond** after all.

 

“...Come, let’s bring you to Blue Diamond.” Cyan had outstretched her arm for Pink to hold. Pink hesitated for a bit before eventually gripping her hand.

 

Little did she know the terror that same Corundum would be for Cyan, Yellow  _ and  _ White Corundum. 

  
  


\---

  
  


Pink Diamond (seemingly out of nowhere) had begun throwing lavish balls in celebrations of her fellow Diamonds’ accomplishments that took place in the Diamonds’ Throne Room in the center of the Palaces. Formerly, it was used for official announcements that required the presence of all of the Diamonds at once. That use had dated back to the early days of The Great Diamond Authority, when there were only three Diamonds and Homeworld’s major structures had just finished construction. Now, it would be used for something completely different: formal balls hosted by Pink Diamond, sometimes with the assistance of Yellow and Blue Diamond.

 

There were rumors of Pink Diamond’s reasoning behind the sudden organization of these balls. Some say that it was to distract the general public from Pink Diamond’s reputation as a Diamond who openly hated the rules set by White Diamond. Others believe that they were set up in an attempt to “lighten the mood” on Homeworld. The only ones who probably knew the truth were Pink Diamond’s personal attendants; her Pearl and Corundum. It wasn’t important anyways, not as important as some other mysteries that accumulated throughout the years.

 

Gems everywhere were astounded when Pink Diamond herself had announced the first ball in the history of Homeworld. Gems were made to take orders and conquer other worlds, not to have fun and enjoy themselves. It was surely unprecedented in the eyes of many. In the Throne Room, Blue and Yellow Diamond were assisting Pink in planning and preparing the ball for the Gems that were able to attend.

 

“...And then I’ll perform for the Gems present with my Pearl and Corundum helping me! And then they’ll applaud, astounded by my brilliant act!” Pink Diamond seemed to have stars in her eyes as she was describing her desired scenario of the ball. Yellow and Blue didn’t look too impressed with her visions.

 

“Pink, you do know that White is going to be there, right? Everything has to be perfect. She would be immensely displeased with what you had in mind. We all have to set an example for the rest of Gemkind and that includes  _ you _ , Pink. You would look like a fool in front of  _ her. _ ” Yellow Diamond had addressed Pink first.

 

“We can accept only a small handful of your ideas, Pink, but the rest of them are only going to worsen your reputation of breaking our rules. You already know how much White dislikes when you make a scene, don’t make anything worse between the two of you.” Blue Diamond had added. “The most we can do for you right now is lend you our Corundums while we attend to our work for a bit.”

 

Pink seemed disappointed, but she seemed to accept Blue’s offer.

 

Both Cyan and Yellow Corundum stepped forward. They saluted to Pink Diamond as a sign of respect.

 

“We are at your command, Pink Diamond.” Both said at the same time. Pink Diamond seemed a bit displeased by their actions.

 

“We will be back later to check on your progress.” Yellow Diamond told Pink before leaving along with Blue.

  
  
  


\---

  
  


“My Diamond is allowing you to incorporate having the Gems dance to music as well as having her, Yellow Diamond and White Diamond being introduced by their Pearls and showcasing a bit of their powers directly after. The latter shows the importance of the Authority and the former differentiates it from the other events. We can also decorate the Throne Room just for the occasion.” Cyan had informed Pink Diamond of her accepted propositions.

 

“There is only one problem: White Diamond lacks a Pearl at the moment. We lost her at our final battle with the Serpentians. Also known as the beginnings of Pink Diamond.” Yellow Corundum added. "Who will introduce her when she has no Pearl?"

 

"Her Corundum, probably." Pink Diamond answered. "White can do whatever she wants as long as she makes an amazing, memorable entrance, which she'll do anyway because, duh, it's  _ White Diamond.  _ It's rare to see her in public and she's the leader of every single Gem, after all."

 

"You have a point there, Pink Diamond. My apologies for questioning your motives." Yellow quickly apologized. Once again, Pink Diamond looked a bit displeased.

 

"You don't have to apologize, you didn't do anything to upset me. But… could you two maybe… convince Yellow and Blue to incorporate just a little bit more of my ideas? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that they did approve of the ones they did, but… I want this ball to be exciting for everyone. Including Yellow, Blue and White." Pink Diamond had tried to convince Cyan and Yellow Corundum.

 

"Pink Diamond, you creating this new tradition alone is enough to excite everyone. Even the other Diamonds. We don't need over-the-top entertainment for that, we just need for  _ you  _ to inspire everyone. Show everyone that you are a Diamond just like the other three." Cyan had tried to dismiss Pink Diamond's plea as gently as possible.

 

"Well, clearly that's not the case considering that I can't even choose how this ball will be like without White, Yellow or Blue telling me that everything I thought of was wrong to think about." Pink Diamond retorted. Her Pearl and Corundum were watching the conversation unfold, seeming not to like where this is heading.

 

"Pink Diamond, trust me when I say that both My Diamond and Blue Diamond love you very much. They only want to teach you what it means to be a Diamond. Being a Diamond means having to make sacrifices to keep the Gem Empire perfect, and most of your ideas will possibly interfere with that ideology. Please understand, they're only doing this for your own good." Yellow tried to appease Pink Diamond.

 

"That's what they always say." Pink Diamond answered her, seeming to drop the argument. She sighed sadly. "Can we please just get to decorating the Throne Room?"

 

"Of course, Pink Diamond." Yellow had responded.

 

\---

  
  


"What was that for?! Pin- My Diamond has had to deal with being imprisoned for a month, her reputation slowly going downhill,  _ and  _ being dismissed by your Diamonds for several years when asked for a colony, and you  _ reject  _ her request for more entertainment?! She just wants other Gems to be happy! She wants  _ herself _ to be happy! Why is that so hard for you two to understand?" Pink Corundum had yelled at Yellow and Cyan on the topic of dismissing Pink Diamond's plea.

 

"Did you really think her feelings mattered in this situation? It wouldn't matter if she was permanently depressed and the only way to make her smile was if she got what she wanted. Think about it, Pink: what matters more? The happiness of a single Gem or the stability of the entire Gem Empire? In this situation, the answer is obvious." Cyan had reprimanded Pink.

 

"You obviously only feel this way due to your connection to Pink Diamond." Yellow had told her. "If you weren't, you would agree."

 

"Shut up! You don't know how it feels to see everyone around you suffer, you're both just as selfish as your Diamonds!" Pink shot in response. Before she could say anything else, Yellow summoned her powers and shot Pink with a bolt of electricity that hit her directly on her chest. She screamed in pain, soon crying from both the physical and emotional pain she felt.

 

"Listen, Pink. Just take this into consideration. Even if we agreed to take her plea into consideration, it doesn't mean that our Diamonds would share the same point of view. We don't discipline you or your Diamond out of spite, but out of care. Some of the things that both of you say are both irrational and a bit selfish, which is why we do what we do. We help train you to train your Diamond to become a great leader." Yellow explained to Pink.

 

"Save your speech. Just because you two think what you do is justified doesn't mean that I do. You expect me to believe that after you just attacked me for no reason?" Pink cried out. "I'm going to My Diamond now, and I won't come back to you two for advice anymore. Not while you two  _ abuse  _ me into doing everything you say." She ran off with tears in her eyes.

 

Yellow seemed to quiver a bit. Cyan was shocked at Pink's actions.

 

"Did you think that we were a bit hard on her?" Cyan asked Yellow, concerned for Pink's wellbeing.

 

"Perhaps a little. Her feelings matter, of course, but we're trying to teach her a lesson here." Yellow responded. "I just… thought I felt something when she said that last sentence. It doesn't matter, what matters is that Pink will eventually learn from this."

 

Shortly after, it was time for the first Homeworld Ball in history to begin.

 

\---

 

The next few hundred years were eventful.

  
  


Pink Diamond's balls had become more frequent, which nobody truly minded. Nearly everyone on Homeworld loved them. The problem was that they frequently ended in disaster. Pink Diamond would do something foolish or reckless and suffer the consequences for those actions. She was locked up in the Prison Tower very frequently.

 

She also started keeping the organic beings from her fellow Diamonds' colonies as pets she took care of. These pets calmed her down for a while, as Pink absolutely  _ adored  _ organic life of all sorts. She would often bring these pets to her organized balls, which earned quite a bit of attention from the Gems in attendance. 

 

Eventually, Pink Diamond had kept some organics from Blue Diamond's Kyanite colony. They were colorful insect-like creatures that were simply referred to as "Things". Later that week, at one of Pink Diamond's balls, she had let them loose in the Ballroom. They chased the Diamonds' Pearls down the halls and were scattered all around the palace. This resulted in Pink Diamond once again being thrown into the Prison Tower.

 

White Diamond was fed up with Pink's actions at that point.

 

"Which one of you did it?" White sternly asked Yellow and Blue Diamond. "Which one of you two let her keep those creatures as pets?".

 

Blue was trembling quite a bit.

 

"I- I did, White." Blue Diamond confessed. Yellow Diamond shot Blue a nervous look.

 

"Then you'll be the one responsible for reprimanding her on this… inappropriate behavior." White responded. "We cannot have this happen again, now we have to hunt  _ all  _ of those Things down and send them back to that colony to die. Clearly she can't handle these types of pets." White had an annoyed yet angry look on her face. "Go now. Go address her behavior."

 

Blue Diamond headed towards the Prison Tower.

 

"Oh, and one more thing, Blue." White stopped her dead in her tracks.

 

"Tell Pink that if something like this happens ever again, her Pearl will no longer be with her." White smiled sadistically. 

 

Blue nodded quickly. She then proceeded to head to the Prison Tower with her Corundum in hand.

  
  


\---

 

"I cannot  **believe** you, making a scene like that." Blue Diamond yelled at Pink Diamond.

 

"I wasn't  _ trying  _ to make a scene, I was just letting them have fun. What have you done with them?!" Pink Diamond had demanded Blue.

 

"What have  **I** done?! What have  **you** done?  **You're** the one who wanted to keep those organics from the Kyanite colony. I'm just the  _ fool  _ that let you." Blue Diamond self-pitied for a moment. "Now your little…  _ pets  _ are chasing the Pearls up and down the halls. What were you thinking, letting them loose in the Ballroom? They could be  _ anywhere _ !"

 

Suddenly, one of the creatures crawled out of Blue's hair. She shrieked, swatting it to the brown wall of the Tower.

 

"Pink!" She squealed in a terrified tone. The creature landed in Pink's arms, chattering in its native language while hugging the side of her head.

 

"Ugh, please, just get rid of it." Blue told Pink, rubbing the side of her cheek the creature was on. Pink placed the creature near a hole in the wall and it crawled into the hole.

 

Blue Diamond sighed.

 

"Pink… White is very unhappy with you."

 

Pink had a concerned look on her face.

 

"If this keeps up, she's going to take away your Pearl." Blue said sadly, she put her hand on her face while saying this.

 

"I know. I'm sorry…" Pink Diamond began to shed some tears. Blue Diamond sighed once again.

 

"Why do you always do this, Pink?" Blue asked Pink.

 

Pink had no answer for Blue, she stayed silent, still shedding tears. Blue sighed yet again.

 

"I best be off, Pink. Please, don't make us have to go over this with you again. If we do, you know what will happen." 

 

And with that, Blue left Pink to cry alone in her prison. And it pained her to do so.

  
  


\---

 

Pink Diamond's behavior had, unfortunately, not improved. Which led to the inevitable: Pink's Pearl had been taken away by White Diamond. Cyan heard that Pink Diamond was called by White Diamond to her ship personally for her to witness this. White Diamond would then possess Pink Pearl, giving her a form devoid of all colors that weren't grayscale. White Diamond now had complete control over her new Pearl. The former Pink Pearl was now referred to as White Pearl. The second Pearl owned by White Diamond in history.

 

White, Yellow and Blue had all combined their powers to create a new Pearl for Pink Diamond. One that would be a better influence on her, and one that would be responsible for keeping her disobedient nature at bay. She came out exactly how they wanted to, and thus she was given to Pink Diamond as her new servant.

 

From then on, the balls Pink threw were much more formal and didn't end in disaster, much to the relief of Yellow and Blue Diamond. They thought Pink had finally learned her lesson.

 

The Diamonds had discovered a set of eight new planets to colonize near the Sun. The Diamonds had all started planning who would get which planet. White Diamond took two of the eight planets, which left the other Diamonds to figure out which planet would belong to who.

 

Yellow Diamond finally decided to give in to Pink's demands and give her a colony of her own seeing as her behavior improved from before. Pink Diamond was immensely happy, throwing a ball to celebrate.

 

It would be the final ball in the history of Homeworld.

 

After the ball ended, White, Yellow and Cyan Corundum pulled Pink Corundum to the side of the room.

 

"A word, Pink?" White asked Pink Corundum.

 

\---

 

"Alright, Pink. This is the moment you were trained for." White told Pink, both of her hands on Pink's shoulders. "You need to ensure that your Diamond's first colony is a successful one."

 

"I don't have any doubt that you will make one of the best colonies Homeworld has ever seen. You have been waiting longer than any of us to get your first mission, over 8,000 years. That's plenty of prep time for coming up with a colony plan." Yellow gave Pink words of encouragement.

 

"Whichever planet the Diamonds decide to give you, you must estimate what Gems each Kindergarten will produce. You may even end up creating an entirely new cut of Gems for all we know. Please, show us that you can be trusted to lead Pink Diamond down the right path. The path of respect and being a perfect ruler." Cyan smiled at Pink.

 

Pink seemed like she was about to cry.

 

"You… you're not going to tell me that what I'm doing is wrong?" Pink spoke in shock. "You're… encouraging me to go on my own path? You won't tell me what Gems to produce and what only you guys want to do?" 

 

White Corundum nodded.

 

"You make your own plans from now on. We can only assist you from here on out."

 

Pink seemed to cry from happiness.

 

"Your work starts now. In order for the Moon Base to be constructed, your Diamond needs some Gems. Come, let us take you to where you will be making them. Inform your Diamond first." White, Yellow and Cyan waited for Pink to do so before going to their destination.

  
  


\---

  
  


Deep under the planet's surface, there was a Kindergarten with many columns. It was the largest Kindergarten in all of the galaxy, and the main hub for Gem creation.

 

"Here. You can use these injectors to create Gems that will help you in your Diamond's conquest. I would suggest making plenty of Nephrites, Peridots, and a variety of commanding Gems. Use the Injectors hanging on the stones to do so." White Corundum had suggested to Pink.

 

"Okay, then." Pink understood.

 

"From there, you can create any Gem you wish."

 

"Any Gem? Even elites?"

 

"If you're lucky, yes."

 

"Alright! Let's get to it!" Pink was clearly excited.

 

"Oh, Pink! One more thing before I go back to My Diamond's ship."

 

"What is it?"

 

"A few facets from here, there are the remains of the Ancient Homeworld Plaza from before you existed. It's abandoned to the point where the whole thing is in ruins. I suggest taking a look when you have a chance, it's an opportunity to learn of our ancient history dating back to over 100,000 years ago." White informed her. She then whispered something extra that Cyan could barely make out. "Oh, and don't tell Yellow, Cyan, or any of the Diamonds for that matter, but there's an ancient Gem in the black structure that used to be my colleague. Maybe you could see her for advice every once in a while." White smiled and headed off to her Diamond's ship.

 

"I'll leave you three be!" She summoned a white orb and began to levitate upwards.

 

"I'll be in the corner, Pink! I just need a word with Yellow. Call me if you need any help!" Cyan yelled at Pink.

 

Yellow seemed confused until she noticed Cyan pulling on her arm.

 

"Hey, Yellow. Have you heard of some Gem that lives in some Ancient Plaza on Homeworld?" Cyan asked her.

 

"No. Why do you ask?"

 

"White just mentioned something about that to Pink and told her not to tell you or I anything about her."

 

"Well, I don't see why. I know nothing about a Gem like that." 

 

"Well, it's still a bit… suspicious. Maybe White is more secretive than we gave her credit for."

 

"Well, we can't all understand her motives. I don't even understand and I've known her since the dawn of Era One. She's just like her Diamond, after all."

 

Cyan wasn't entirely satisfied with that answer. She wanted to learn who exactly this Gem was and why White didn't want either of them to know about her. But now wasn't the time, they had to help Pink produce Gems.

 

But now that the two of them were mostly alone…

 

"Say, Yellow? What was this place like at the beginning of the Empire?" Cyan asked Yellow curiously.

 

"Why ask?" Yellow asked back.

 

"Because you just said you were around since at least the dawn of Era One. And also because I haven't been around for that long to witness it."

 

"Well, there were only White and Yellow Diamond back then, the planet's surface was much less elevated, and there weren't as many Gems running around as there are now. It was mostly coming up with ways to colonize planets in order for our Empire to expand. It's easier if I just show you."

 

Yellow swept her bangs aside, revealing her bright yellow eyes and gem. Her gem was on her forehead, similar to White's.

 

Cyan could've sworn that she blushed when she saw her eyes.

 

Yellow then projected a hologram from her gem. Shown in this hologram were Diamond Palaces that looked vastly different from the ones in present day, a crystalline road that led to the Palaces and other buildings and structures, several Gems seemingly awaiting the presence of the Diamonds, and a path to the Kindergartens. The hologram seemed to glitch after a bit, only repeating the same two frames of Gems cheering and the the same scenery.

 

"Yellow, is this supposed to happen?"

 

"N-no. It's probably because my memory is failing me. Just remember what I told you, that's all I can remember." Yellow told Cyan.

 

Cyan thought something was off. If she was a Corundum, she should have photogenic memory. So why doesn't she?

 

"Guys, can you help me program these things?" Pink called out to them both.

 

These thoughts would have to wait for another day.

  
  


\---

  
  


Yellow Diamond had properly assigned Pink Diamond her first colony: the planet Earth. It had potential unlike Cyan had seen before. It was  _ brimming _ with organic lifeforms of all sorts, was a combination of several different landscapes, and had a vast amount of resources to use. The only part that was a shame was it's size. It wasn't as big as some other colonies, but it made up for that in potential.

 

Any Gem of any kind could be made there with the right resources.

 

Cyan was happy for Pink, but a bit jealous as well. She wanted to do the honors of converting such a planet to a planet  _ truly  _ worthy of the title of "colony". Oh well.

 

The Diamonds had another surprise for Pink Diamond as well: her own ship. It was in the shape of a pair of legs, and could be piloted with the movements of Pink Diamond's legs. It could also be connected to White Diamond's ship as a part of the Diamond Mech. Pink gratefully thanked White, Yellow and Blue for both the ship and her new colony.

 

As soon as the Moon Base was constructed, Pink Diamond, her Pearl, and her Corundum were sent to colonize the Earth. The Nephrites were piloting the Dropships into the planet to prepare for construction.

 

Once Pink Corundum finished with her plans for the future colony, the Nephrites immediately began the construction of structures.

 

Blue and Yellow Diamond sent some of their Gems to assist in colonization as well, including some Hessonites, Lapis Lazulis, and other commanding Gems.

 

Of course, they were both preoccupied with their own colonies as well, and thus had only a handful of Gems sent to assist Pink Diamond in the colonization of Earth. 

 

They could only pray to the stars that Pink wouldn't need any help with her new colony.

 

\---

 

"Please, just listen to me!" Pink Diamond pleaded, begging on her knees in front of Blue Diamond's Palanquin. "I want to preserve life on Earth. And the only way to do that is to shut down the colony plans!" 

 

Pink Corundum stood beside Cyan on a side of the Palanquin while their Diamonds were busy. Pink Pearl and Blue Pearl were on the other side of the Palanquin.

 

"Pink, where is this coming from? You were doing just fine for the first few years and now out of nowhere you're asking us to shut down the colony for you over some small organic beings?" Blue Diamond questioned Pink. "Look, Pink. The most I can do for you is to build a Zoo to keep your pets in. That way you can have plenty at once and they won't go loose on Homeworld like the others."

 

"But-!"

 

"End of discussion, Pink. Please, go back to your Moon Base and continue with the colonization plans."

 

Pink Diamond frowned, but followed Blue Diamond's orders and left.

 

"Pearl, Corundum, set the ship's coordinates for Homeworld. We need a group of Gems to construct the Zoo." Blue Diamond ordered them both.

  
  


\---

 

After the construction of the Zoo finished, Blue Diamond sent Corundum along with a group of Blue Quartzes, Amethysts, and Aqua Aura Quartzes to gather groups of organic life for the Zoo.

 

The ship landed on Earth, where they saw for themselves the life that thrived there. It was very plentiful, more than enough for the Zoo.

 

"Hue-mans. Those are the dominant species we are after. Am I clear?"

 

"Yes, ma'am!" All of the Quartzes saluted the Corundum.

 

"There are a bunch of them in this area, gather them and throw them into the ship. We need them to keep Pink Diamond happy, understood?"

 

"Right away, My Corundum!" All of them said, before scattering to find the organic beings that dwelled there.

 

Corundum sat on the grass, awaiting their return.

 

Eventually, they did return with dozens upon dozens of "hue-mans" in their huge arms.

 

"Excellent! Now we head to the Zoo and throw them in. Our Diamond will surely be proud of your progress." Corundum told the Quartzes.

 

\---

 

Pink Diamond's pleas to stop the colonization didn't diminish from there.

 

She  _ pleaded  _ and  _ begged  _ both Yellow and Blue Diamond to give her permission to stop the colonization of Earth. They both couldn't understand why, and neither did their Corundums. Apparently Pink Corundum had no idea why either. When Cyan asked her about it, she simply said: "Don't ask me, this attitude came completely out of nowhere. It's possible that she developed it when I was off doing… errands on Homeworld."

 

The problem with that statement is that Corundums didn't have to run errands on Homeworld while they had a colonization plan active. Let alone that this was her first colony.

 

Cyan contacted Yellow Corundum with her screen system on Blue Diamond's Ship.

 

"I think we need to follow Pink the next time she does these… mysterious errands."

 

\---

 

Both Corundums travelled secretly to Earth's moon in their own personal ships. They stayed far from the surface in order to not gather any attention from Pink Diamond, her Pearl, or Pink Corundum.

 

Soon enough, Pink Corundum took her own personal shuttle to Homeworld, with both following her.

  
  


\---

  
  


Pink eventually landed her ship in the middle of an abandoned area of Homeworld. It was deep underneath the surface of the planet, and had little to no modern restoration.

 

It was almost like the scene Yellow projected.

 

"This is it. The Ancient Plaza. Though, I remember it much differently than this. That black structure was yellow… I could've sworn… that it was… no…" Yellow Corundum seemed lost in her own thoughts.

 

"Uh… Yellow?"

 

"Huh? Oh, right. Pink. She headed in that black tower."

 

They both headed out and followed her inside.

 

Yellow kept looking around the place, as if it was a place she swore she had seen before but she couldn't truly remember. And that was exactly the case.

 

"Yellow, you know… if you're uncomfortable with staying here, you're welcome to stay outside while I go get Pink." Cyan had addressed Yellow.

 

"N-no. It's completely fine. I think that this place is the key to unlocking my lost memories. I just need to drag them out manually by looking around more, then maybe I can finally remember what I've lost and I  _ won't  _ be considered a defect in the society." Yellow responded to her.

 

"You're not defective, Yellow. You only forgot the first few years of your life, that's not even what you're required to remember. Besides, if you're able to drag those memories out, that means that you're not a defect." Cyan tried to reason with her.

 

"Well, I won't be defective after I get my memories back. As of now, I'm no better than the off-colored Gems formed when Pink made those Gems in the Kindergarten." 

 

Cyan was about to argue when she heard a voice.

 

"That's not Pink's voice. It's another Gem."

 

They both identified the source of the voice to be inside a room with two large doors, both decorated with crystalline black diamonds.

 

They peered inside, and saw two Gems.

 

One was their beloved Pink Corundum.

 

The other they didn't recognize.

 

She had her black Gem on her left eye, a Corundum gem. Gray skin, short black hair, black "lipstick", black stripes underneath her eye and gem, and a dress full of stars with a black crescent moon in the center.

 

"She's a Corundum… Yellow?!"

 

Yellow had tears shedding from her eyes. She was in a catatonic state, unable to move.

 

"Are you alright?!"

 

"Y-yes… but there's something about that Gem… that all my senses are screaming at me about. I feel like… I knew her once before, but haven't seen her in a very long time." Yellow attempted to describe her internal thoughts to Cyan.

 

"That might mean that she's dangerous! Let's get Pink back!"

 

"Cyan, wait!"

  
  


\---

  
  


"And I feel like she just developed this behavior out of nowhere and she won't tell me anything about it!" Pink Corundum vented to the Black Corundum.

 

"I see. A classic case of organic love." Black Corundum responded.

 

"Huh?"

 

"My Diamond had done the same back in the days, just replace yourself with Steel Gray and Pink Diamond with My Diamond." Black had laughed at this statement. Pink seemed confused.

 

"You really need to learn your history, Pink."

 

"Don't touch the Corundum." Cyan's voice came from the doorway.

 

Pink was shocked. Black stood there in confusion.

 

"What's a little Co **_rundum like you doing in here?_ ** " Black's voice started out normal but slowly became more horrific as her eye turned black, her pupils turning white in the process.

 

Cyan shrunk in fear.

 

"I-I…"

 

"She's Blue Diamond's Corundum, Black. She probably followed me all the way here." Pink answered the question.

 

"But that's not… Powder…"

 

"Powder?" Pink questioned Black.

 

"Powder Blue Corundum. Blue Diamond's Corundum."

 

"S-s-she's dead. White Diamond shattered her."

 

"Oh, oh no. She's not doing what I think-"

 

That's when she caught a glimpse of Cyan running out with Pink in her arms, with Pink flailing in an attempt to be freed. She also got a glimpse of Yellow running with them.

 

"Yellow… you're still alive…" Cyan could barely make out what she said before they left. She said something else, but she didn't hear her.

  
  


\---

  
  


"What were you thinking?! When your Diamond needed you,  **this** is where you sneak off to?" Cyan reprimanded Pink.

 

"I wasn't trying to avoid Pi-My Diamond! I was just trying to help her!" Pink defended herself.

 

"Help her? This is how you help her?! By seeing a completely untrustworthy Gem behind her back and leaving her to manage on her own?!"

 

"She isn't untrustworthy at all! She's a nice Gem, if only you-!"

 

"That's enough! Pink, I'll let you off with a warning, but I don't want you going  _ near  _ her ever again, got it?"

 

"Fine…" Pink sadly agreed.

 

"Good. Now get your sorry self out of here and back to your Diamond's Moon Base!"

 

Pink flew her shuttle to the Earth's Moon Base.

  
  


"So, Yellow, did you manage to drag out your memories?"

 

"No. I didn't. Everything from the past is still a complete blank." Yellow responded.

 

"Oh well. Don't worry, you'll get them back one day."

  
  


" _ I promise." _

  
  


\---

 

"Yellow, Blue! It's horrible! One of the new Rose Quartzes from my Kindergarten rebelled and now she's threatening to overpower us! I think this is a good time to shut down the colony, before she gets rid of all of my Gems!" Pink Diamond was visibly terrified.

 

"A rebel Rose Quartz?" Yellow Diamond questioned.

 

"Yes, and she has a Pearl on her side too!"

 

"Very well. We'll take care of the problem for you." Blue Diamond had told Pink.

 

Pink Diamond seemed to smile, but at the same time be horribly worried.

 

"I'll take my court along and we'll be in one of the Arenas." Blue Diamond informed Pink.

 

\---

 

**_The Cloud Arena, several minutes before the rebellion's attack_ ** :

  
  


Blue Diamond had arrived in the Cloud Arena in her Palanquin. She brought along her Pearl, Corundum, and many diplomatic Gems of her court to investigate the reports of rebels.

 

Among those Gems was a Sapphire, guarded by three Rubies. The Rubies and Sapphire were made several hundred years before, in one of Blue Diamond's colonies. This Sapphire was one of Blue Diamond's most trusted Sapphires, if not the most trusted. Sapphire would be an important factor in ridding the Earth of rebels once and for all.

 

Some other Gems that were with them were Amethysts, Topazes, Lapis Lazulis, Jaspers, Corundums, Tourmalines and many, many more. It was important to have a large amount of Gems for the capture of a small group of rebels.

 

Sapphire stepped forward to Blue Diamond's Palanquin, the Quartz guards immediately withdrawing in sight of Sapphire. She entered the Palanquin, sweeping the sheer curtains aside.

 

"My Diamond, I have arrived." Sapphire announced.

 

"Sapphire, tell me what will happen here." Blue Diamond spoke.

 

"I foresee the rebels attacking the Cloud Arena. Before they are cornered, they will destroy the physical forms of seven Gems, including two of my Ruby guards, and myself. Immediately after my form is destroyed, the rebels will be captured. The rebellion ends here." Sapphire gave her prediction.

 

"Thank you, Sapphire." Blue Diamond said, clearly relieved. "That's all I needed to know."

 

"I look forward to speaking with you again once I reform back on Homeworld." Sapphire bowed to Blue Diamond before returning to her Ruby guards.

 

Corundum smiled. She wouldn't have to put up with extra work concerning capturing the rebels on a colony that wasn't even Blue Diamond's. Plus, she didn't want to mass produce Gems for another war. Not since the war on those organics over 27,000 years ago.

 

She didn't realize how long it had been since then until that moment.

 

Had the organics' species gone extinct? They had to have. Not only did the Diamonds attack them, but their planet was colonized. There was no possible way they could've survived.

 

Was there?

 

"Blue Diamond, leave this planet. This colony will not be completed!" A distant voice called out.

 

"It's the rebels!" A Ruby shouted in realization.

 

"Who are you? Show yourselves!" Another had called out to them.

 

A look in the direction of the voice, and a Pearl holding two swords could be seen standing atop a pillar. This Pearl was multicolored, having pink hair, white skin, blue eyes, and multicolored clothing. Her gem was located on her forehead. Above her was a Gem Corundum did not recognize. She had bubblegum-pink hair, several locks of hair curled into flower-shaped curls, and a white dress that had a star-shaped cut near where her pink pentagon-faceted gem was located. It then hit her: this Gem was that rebel leader Rose Quartz. Rose Quartzes were a Gem cut newly-established on Earth. They seemed to be designed by Pink Corundum using the resources found on Earth. She was… oddly attractive to Corundum.

 

Right after these thoughts, she mentally berated herself. 'Get a grip! She's a  _ rebel _ ! Besides, it's no use feeling for her, she'll be shattered soon anyway.'

 

"We… are the Crystal Gems!" Both Rose Quartz and her Renegade Pearl announced their presence.

 

Blue Diamond closed the entrance to her Palanquin, four legs sprouting from the bottom of the transportation device. The Palanquin carried her, her Pearl and Corundum away from the fight to avoid any casualties between the three while still watching the events unfold.

 

The Pearl made her first move against the two Quartzes previously guarding the Palanquin. She slashed them both at once, and before they knew it, their forms were destroyed. Pearl had dashed forward, once again slashing her swords, this time into two Tourmalines' forms, instantly destabilizing them.

 

Sapphire's three Ruby guards decided to go for a bigger target: Rose Quartz.

They fused into a bigger Ruby and attempted to get a hit on Rose. Rose simply smiled and took out the fusion with two punches, unfusing them back into three Rubies. The Pearl then slashed two of the three Rubies, as she couldn't take out all three at once with only two swords and arms, destabilizing the two Rubies in the process. The third Ruby landed face-first into the Arena floor, looking up just in time to see Pearl land in front of Sapphire.

 

"Thank you, Ruby. You did your best." Sapphire spoke.

 

When the Pearl was about to slash Sapphire, a voice could be heard: "NO!"

 

Ruby pushed Sapphire out of the Pearl's field of vision, and they both lit up.

 

What happened next shocked all present in the Arena.

 

In their place stood a seven foot tall Gem, she had a mix of pink and blue clothing and hair, she had a Ruby and Sapphire gem on each palm, and she had three eyes.

 

They fused together. Two completely different types of Gems fused to make a Gem fusion.

 

It was unheard of.

 

Blue Diamond was visibly disgusted. Even with most of her face hidden inside her cloak, it was clear that she felt disgusted. Her Pearl was paralyzed with fear. Corundum herself was fearful of it, yet slightly intrigued by the process behind such a feat. How did they do it? Why did they do it?

 

"What… what is this?" The fusion spoke.

 

The entire crowd froze, including the two rebels.

 

The Pearl eventually shook it off and aimed for the fusion, but was stopped by Rose Quartz.

 

"Wait. This is-" Rose had started, but acknowledged that the Topazes and Amethysts were charging towards them.

 

"Let's go." She told the Pearl.

 

"Uh...uh...bye!" The Pearl said before fleeing with Rose. The rebels escaped. And it was all that fusion's fault. Now they had to waste more energy trying to stop them.

 

"Is this-?" The fusion started, but immediately unfused back into the Ruby and Sapphire.

 

The furious crowd of Gems closed in on Ruby and Sapphire out of rage and disgust.

 

"Unbelievable!"

 

"Disgusting."

 

"This is unheard of!"

 

Blue Diamond's Palanquin approached the two Gems, fury seeping out of her very being.

 

"The rebels have fled. Sapphire, this is not the scenario you described!" Blue Diamond's voice cut through the crowd.

 

"This is… not what I saw. I don't know what happened, I-" Sapphire started.

 

"No! It was me." Ruby defended her.

 

"Clearly. How dare you fuse with a member of my court." Blue Diamond said, fury present in her voice. Corundum was also visibly upset.

 

"Forgive me! I-" 

 

"You'll be broken for this!" Blue Diamond yelled.

 

The crowd of Gems tried to restrain the Ruby, but Sapphire did something unexpected.

 

She fled with the Ruby and jumped off the Arena's edge.

 

No one in the Arena could comprehend what just happened.

 

"Retreat for now. We'll return for the rebels later, and possibly that Ruby and Sapphire." Blue Diamond gave her orders.

 

\---

 

**_Homeworld, Hours after the Attack on the Cloud Arena:_ **

  
  


"And that's when they fused! A Ruby and Sapphire, can you believe it?" Cyan explained the sights she witnessed to Yellow Corundum. They were in a private area of the Palace that only the Diamonds and their personal Gems could enter.

 

"Are you sure you weren't just imagining it? We have very vivid imaginations, you know." Yellow asked her.

 

"I'm sure! At least a hundred Gems witnessed the same sight, the rebels included!" 

 

"Well, if fusing with a different type of Gem is  _ that simple _ , how come it's so unheard of?"

 

"I… I don't know. I've never even fused in general. I've always thought that for it to work I needed a Gem the exact same type and color as myself, which isn't commonly found. My gem is more lightly colored than most of the Blue Corundums. Thus, I haven't had the chance to do so. Plus, I barely interact with any of my own cut besides you, White and Pink." Cyan made it clear that she had never fused before. "Have you ever done it?"

 

"Just once. During the Serpentian War. I fused with a commanding Corundum in hopes that we would defeat them easier. It was a bit comforting and we were stronger than before. But before we knew it, we were split because of a powerful attack and… I was... destroyed for the first time. I eventually reformed back on Homeworld, but then learned of Powder Blue's demise." 

 

"Interesting. You know, the topic of fusion is an interesting one to me. Two different Gems making an entirely new being. It's disturbing… but intriguing."

 

Suddenly, Yellow grabbed Cyan's hands.

 

"Then, would you like to test that type of fusion out?"

 

"W-whuh?!" Cyan blushed furiously.

 

"I know, it's sudden. We aren't even  _ that _ close and I still blame you a bit for Powder Blue's fate, but if you… we test that sort of fusion, we can answer both of our burning questions about it."

 

"...Yeah, sure… let's do it." Cyan managed to say.

 

Trying to fuse was a hassle.

 

No matter  _ what  _ they did or  _ how  _ they did it, Yellow and Cyan couldn't manage to fuse into one being. They knew that what they were doing was  _ extremely  _ taboo, and they attempted anyway. As long as they weren't caught fusing, they could get away with this.

 

They tried stacking themselves both ways, running into each other (which hurt), and even just holding each other. Nothing worked.

 

"This is a  _ lot  _ harder than it looked when they did it." Cyan remarked.

 

"It's because they weren't actually trying from what you told me." Yellow responded.

 

Cyan sighed.

 

"Let's just stop trying to fuse, ok? I honestly only wanted to do it because you insisted. I… really don't want to be caught attempting this by anyone." 

 

"You could've refused. I wouldn't have minded if you did."

 

"Why did you do that?"

 

"Huh?"

 

"Why were you so eager to fuse right off the bat? You've existed for so long, since like a hundred thousand years ago! Why would you want to risk being killed for the sake of fusion? Why would you want to risk being killed for  _ me _ ?"

 

Yellow stayed silent for a bit.

 

"...The one time I fused with the Corundum commander, I felt something I hadn't felt before. It was a sort of… warmth, like I wasn't alone. And I wasn't, she was with me. You feel some sort of… euphoria that you'll want to keep feeling forever. Let me tell you, Cyan: the next time we saw each other after we reformed, we gained a new level of understanding when it came to each other. I thought that maybe… if  _ we _ were to fuse… we could potentially understand each other a bit better. If we combined into one being, we could feel what it's like to fuse with each other. To be an all new person." She finally spoke.

 

"But I… I don't think I'm ready for it. It honestly seems strange to me."

 

"I understand. It was wrong of me to perform such impulsive actions."

 

Yellow then smiled.

 

"Your personality is really rubbing off on me, you know. It reminds me of when we went to retrieve Pink from that Gem. You just rushed in with no plan. I looked down on you for it, but here I am doing the same!" Yellow laughed.

 

"Seems like I'm returning the favor, your's gets to me a lot. Your so… composed and calm. You seem like you always know exactly what to do. You're perfect. You're the perfect Gem to do this sort of job: the job of commanding others. That's why I found it a surprise then, when you were crying and shaking. You never do that sort of thing, ever."

 

"Every Gem has their flaws. No matter how 'perfect' one might seem in the open, mark my words:  _ every single Gem has at least one flaw or weakness, that's something even the most powerful of Gems couldn't change. _ The perfect being doesn't exist. Not even White Diamond is perfect, my proof lies in how she can barely control what happens on Homeworld." Yellow clarified for her. "You're not perfect and I'm not perfect, but we have to make the best of our situations, no matter  _ what  _ flaws we have, it's alright. It's just what differentiates us from the rest. We just make the most of our situations. For example, I may seem like a cool, calm and collected leader, but… I'm actually just a frightened Gem. Frightened at the possibility of losing everything in a battle when I guide my armies of Gems. What keeps me going is the possibility of a better future."

 

"Is it like how I can't control the urge to panic when a bigger Gem threatens me?"

 

"You have the right idea, fear is a factor in all of us. Some Gems just hide it better than others."

 

"...Yellow?" Cyan asked.

 

"Yes?"

 

"I'm scared. Scared of the possibility of another war. A war that we'll have no choice but to fight. I… I don't want to be broken. I want to keep living to serve My Diamond." 

 

"It's okay. It's okay to be scared. You just have to be tough. If war happens to break out due to the rebels, lead your Gems with confidence. Put a brave face on, show them that there's nothing to fear in this situation. It's what I do, and I lead entire armies. It'll do you good in the long run." Yellow responded. "And you won't be shattered, I swear to the Diamonds that you won't."

 

Cyan was starting to cry. She embraced Yellow in a hug.

 

"Thank you… I'll remember this…"

 

Yellow blushed, being surprised at the sudden gesture. She then started to smile.

 

"You're welcome…" 

 

She returned the gesture, closing her eyes.

 

That's when the pair started to glow.

 

When the glow dissipated, there was a single Gem in their place.

 

"Huh?!" She spoke, surprise clear in her voice. "I… we did it?!" 

 

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to be like- no, no it's fine. I'm okay with this."

 

"You are? What made you change your mind?"

 

"That talk we had. It was needed."

 

"Oh- what exactly are we- am I?"

 

She realized she had a whole new field of vision. There were another pair of eyes under her eyes. She looked at her arms and saw her mint-colored skin. She was also taller than her components. She grabbed her sidebangs and noticed that her hair was now seafoam-green.

 

Her outfit was an amalgamation of Yellow and Cyan's outfits. Some parts of Yellow's long, frilly dress and some parts of Cyan's toga dress were visible on the fusion. She wore no shoes.

 

"Corundum? Where have you gone?"

 

That voice was enough to make her panic and immediately unfuse. It was the voice of Blue Diamond.

 

"I… I've got to go serve My Diamond, goodbye! Nice doing this with you!" She ran out of the room.

 

What they did in that room would remain a secret between them.

  
  


\---

  
  


Tensions rose between the Crystal Gems and Homeworld to the point where it turned into a full-on war. Rose may have had a pretty face, but she was still a Quartz soldier. She knew how to both strategize and fight well. It didn't help that other Gems were following her ideals and turning traitor as well. 

 

According to some of the Gems sent to investigate the rebels, their goal was to fight for the Earth and the life that existed on it, in addition to the freedom of Gems. It was a very pointless goal. Why fight for life that will eventually die out anyway, colony or no colony? 

 

Corundum was eventually stationed to Earth with four Agate bodyguards and five Lapis Lazulis to assist in completing the colony while the war took place. It was successful only for a few days, until several Crystal Gems came to stop them. There were a variety of Gems that came after them, for both the fact that they belonged to Homeworld and that Corundum was an important Gem, a high-ranked Gem. Corundum couldn't fight them off, being paralyzed with fear and only having a small amount of water in her gemstone to make use of for combat left, but the Agates managed to hold them back until she escaped. Only four Lapis Lazulis returned with her, leaving the Agates and one of the Lapises behind forever. None of them were found when making a return trip to retrieve the five Gems. Because of this incident, Blue Diamond decided to send the Lapis Lazulis alone without the guidance of their Corundum in order to lessen the risk of losing her. Some of which wouldn’t return back to Homeworld again.

 

It was at this point that the Battle of the Ziggurat took place.

 

\---

 

A chime on Blue Diamond's door was heard.

 

"Open the door." Blue Diamond told her Gems.

 

Corundum opened the door, and it revealed an ally of her's.

 

"Yellow?"

 

"Come with me." Yellow Corundum said.

 

“But-”

 

“Blue Diamond, may I borrow your Corundum? It’s for important purposes.”

 

Blue Diamond seemed skeptical. She sighed.

 

“Very well, make it quick.”

 

Yellow dragged Cyan by the arm into the hallway.

 

“Sorry to do this so suddenly, but I need to tell you something important." Yellow apologized.

 

“Ok, go on.” Cyan told her.

 

“I… I’m being stationed on Earth to command Yellow Diamond’s armies to fight off the Rebellion. I thought I’d tell you just so you don’t wonder where I’ve gone off to so suddenly. It’s also so that if, for any reason, I die on the battlefield or get captured or imprisoned by rebels for eternity, I get to speak with you one last time before any of that happens. But I know I won’t be outsmarted by some Quartz and her misguided army.”

 

“What made Yellow Diamond make such a decision? Can’t she lead them herself? Doesn’t she need you for colony plans?” Cyan asked a couple of questions.

 

“Well, she can’t just go to Earth. She has far more important things to do than fight a team of unruly Gems. I’ve made colony plans for her already, her Pearl and her Gems can surely substitute for me while I’m off leading the soldiers. Plus, I have experience leading armies, remember?” Her tone was oddly optimistic for such an upsetting role she must fulfill.

 

“Are you… nervous?” Cyan asked.

 

“Nervous? Maybe a bit.” Yellow answered.

 

“I was only on Earth for about two days before the rebels attacked. I lost my bodyguards and a Lapis Lazuli in only ten minutes. You should be careful, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

 

“Nothing will happen to me, I promise. I’ll be absolutely careful.” Yellow held Cyan’s hand. “Don’t worry about me. Worry about helping your Diamond produce more Gems to assist us.” She smiled. They embraced in a hug.

 

Cyan cried a bit.

 

“When the rebels are defeated, return to me and White, ok?” She said during the embrace.

 

“Count on it.” Yellow responded. “I need to leave now, take care of her, Cyan. I’ll be helping Pink keep rebels off of her Diamond’s colony.” She took off to get her personal shuttle.

 

That was the last time she saw Yellow before the incident.

  
  
  


\---

  
  


In a hurry to stop the Crystal Gems, a second Kindergarten was constructed, but this one was very rushed. Many defective Gems came from it, except for one: a Jasper that took out eighty Crystal Gems on her first day emerged from the ground of Earth.

 

From this news, it seemed that Homeworld was for sure going to win the war to Cyan. She ramped up the Quartz and Larimar production in order to send them to assist in fighting the war. Quartzes for combat and Larimars for accelerated reformation of Gems.

 

That all changed when the shattering of Pink Diamond happened.

 

It was a shock for every single Gem in existence when it happened. Most (including Cyan) didn’t think it was possible for a Diamond to shatter. They were proven wrong in the most brutal way possible: through a direct attack from Rose Quartz to Pink Diamond in front of her entire entourage. All Cyan could think of was Pink Corundum. Where was she during the assassination? Was she unaware of the event or was she fully aware and suffering on the inside because of it? These thoughts were interrupted by a wave of pathokinesis by her Diamond, a flurry of sadness hit her like a speeding spaceship. All she could do was cry. And it would stay that way for years, as long as she was with her Diamond.

 

Her Diamond’s first actions after the shattering were to take over the operation of Pink Diamond’s Human Zoo in her deceased loved one’s stead. She entrusted one of her Agates to take care of it, along with Pink Diamond’s Quartzes created on Earth later. The amount of humans had increased from when they were first put in due to reproduction of their species. Gems can't reproduce sexually like they did.

 

Soon after the shattering, a Diamond meeting was called between the three remaining Diamonds. Right before said meeting, Cyan noticed the presence of Yellow Corundum, whom she hadn’t seen in over three hundred years. She was joyous to see her, but Yellow seemed… off. Normally, she would greet Cyan at these meetings, but she seemed preoccupied.

 

After much thought, Cyan decided to talk with her.

 

“Hey, Yellow. Nice to see you after all this time.” She greeted her. This seemed to catch Yellow by surprise.

 

“Oh! Hey. Didn’t see you there.” Yellow greeted back.

 

“So… how were the war battles?”

 

Yellow seemed hesitant to answer.

 

“They were going great, until some rebels decided to torture me for fun. I recognized them, they were a part of My Diamond’s court. I bet it was because they blame me for being associated with her.” Yellow ranted. “They took me to a place away from my army, and took out one of the weapons the Serpentians made. They aimed it towards one of my eyes, and…” Yellow swept her hair away from her face to reveal a… horrifyingly gruesome revelation.

 

They removed her eye. They literally removed her right eye from her form using that weapon, and it left behind a nasty scar where her eye once was.

 

Cyan couldn’t help it. She screamed, horror present in her voice.

 

“The force of the weapon caused my form to destabilize. When I reformed, part of my vision was gone.” She cried a bit. “And… I don’t know how to tell you this… my memories from the past… they returned to me suddenly.”

 

This visibly shocked Cyan.

 

“Should we tell White?!”

 

“Most likely.”

 

White Corundum came towards them as they said this.

 

“Tell me what?” White asked.

 

“Uh… Yellow’s memories of the past suddenly came back, but her right eye is gone.” Cyan answered.

 

White was saddened.

 

“So, you remember everything? About us? About your beginnings?”

 

“Yes. You know, I’ve been dying to get those memories back ever since I lost them. The irony is… I’m the one who asked to get those memories blocked.”

  
  
  


\---

 

Shortly after the meeting, experiments for a geo-weapon that would incubate inside the Earth were conducted. The scientist Gems would take shards of deceased Crystal Gems and forcefully combine them by burying them into the ground with each other. The experiments were  _ horrific, _ but they were necessary for the defeat of the Rebellion.

 

Pink Corundum and Pink Diamond’s Pearl were declared dead by the Diamonds, as they were nowhere to be found on Earth. Her Pearl was last seen hours before the shattering, and her Corundum was reported kidnapped after having witnessed Pink Diamond’s shattering. They were both presumed to be killed by Rose Quartz in order to join their Diamond in her untimely fate.

 

This news struck Cyan deeply. She truly cared for Pink, and now she was gone. Shattered by the very first cut of Gem she had helped create. Yellow seemed to be taking the news harder. This caused her to not only work harder on her cluster experiments, but inspired her to come up with an all new project as well.

 

One made so that the effects of the project could be immediate.

  
  


\---

  
  


Cyan was checking the status of the soldiers in her care when she heard a knock on the door of Blue Diamond’s Room. Her Diamond was not present, she was busy modifying the Zoo to keep up with technological standards. When she opened, she saw Yellow Corundum.

 

“Yellow, what a pleasant surprise!” Cyan was truly excited to see her; today had been a slow day.

 

“It’s truly going to be a pleasant surprise when you hear what I’ve come up with. I’ve found a way to modify Gems’ code to make them immune to certain emotions that hold them back in battle such as fear and anxiety! It also makes them physically stronger and more durable.” She seemed excited of her newest experiment.

 

“That’s great…”

 

“So… I’ve been wondering… would you like to avenge Pink in any way you could?”

 

“I would, but those rebels are strong.”

 

“That’s where my offer comes in. Become a subject in this experiment and you’ll be able to fight them off easily.”

 

“Huh?!?!” Cyan was shocked.

 

“I know, it may be asking for a lot. But trust me, the process is simple. It may cause pain, but the end result is worth it!” Yellow was trying to convince Cyan into being her test subject.

 

“But… I’ve never fought a Gem before, not without my hydrokinetic abilities. And I need actual water to absorb into my gemstone to make them work.”

 

“And that’s where this comes in. It’ll increase your uses of your abilities using less water. The experiment will also give you immense strength, along with the bravery to fight them. However, I must warn you. After the procedure ends, you will turn more aggressive towards other Gems. Personality-wise and combat-wise.”

 

Cyan put thought into this. She finally closed her eyes and made up her mind.

 

“Alright. I’ll do it for Pink.”

  
  
  


_ “Whatever it takes to avenge her death and shatter every single rebel off the face of the planet...” _

  
  
  


\---

  
  


Cyan’s eyes shot open.

 

Where was she? She was just fighting Black Corundum before blacking out.

 

And that’s when her eyes rested on a certain someone…

  
  
  
  
  


**_To be continued..._ **

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions are raised and some might be answered....
> 
> This fanfiction now has an ask blog on tumblr! You can ask the Gems a question here: https://askhopediamondandcrew.tumblr.com
> 
> See you all next time!


	12. Reawakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We return to the present, where a fight is about to go down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please don't kill me ya'll
> 
> After this chapter, this fic should (emphasis on the word "should") go back to a normal posting schedule. I've been busy recently and I apologize for that. Enjoy!
> 
> UPDATE V1.5: Fixed certain errors, removed notion that the Spinels were assassins, they were changed to Howlite Gems.

**_Homeworld’s Ancient Plaza, Present Day:_ **

  
  


“I see you have ignored White Diamond’s warning about interaction with lesser beings, dear. Perhaps this will teach you a lesson.” White Pearl had turned to Aqua. “I’ll make you return home. No matter what the cost.” 

 

Aqua put her defenses up. She’d just seen the abilities of the possessed Pearl, and they were similar to her Diamond’s, except less powerful. She may have been a Pearl, but she didn’t want to end up the same as her: a mere puppet to White Diamond. Plus, the scar over her eye was most likely caused by White. Aqua wanted all of her limbs and parts intact.

  
Periwinkle Pearl got up from her state of immobility. 

 

“Ugh… did we win? Is she dow- AIEEE, WHITE DIAMOND’S PEARL!” She got up, but upon the sight of the Pearl, she shrieked and immediately jumped up. That definitely got her attention. She proceeded to summon her parasol in self-defense.

 

 White Pearl turned her attention to the shrieking Pearl.

 

“My, my. That’s no way to treat a Diamond’s Pearl. Especially the superior of all Gems’s Pearl. Your impurities really show. I was hoping that by making you differently. you would calm your owner’s behavior down. As it turns out, I clearly should’ve gone a different route in creating a Pearl for your owner.” She smiled.

 

Periwinkle mentally cursed her out.

 

“Don’t talk about Peri like that.” Aqua growled. “She may not be perfect, but she’s still my Pearl. You may see her as a replacement servant, but I see her as a dear friend who’s worth protecting.”

 

Periwinkle smiled, blushing.

 

“I digress. The second reason I’m here is to take you back from these rogues. The first being to capture that Corundum.” She placed her lance forward. “Now, either come with me willingly, or be a parasite and fight back. If you choose the latter, your capture will be all the more painful." White Pearl changed the subject.

 

"Well, there's no way in the abyss that I'll come willingly. You should know that." Aqua responded, a cocky grin forming on her face. "So we're doing this the  _ hard  _ way. You're going down, W.P." She cracked her knuckles, fully ready to defeat the Pearl.

 

"Aqua, can I pull you aside for juuuust a moment?" Bubblegum Pearl placed her hand on Aqua's right shoulder before shoving her to a corner.

 

"Hey, what gives?" Aqua asked the Pearl.

 

"Did you not see what she did to that Corundum?! You could end up like that too: a mindless Gem who has no free will and only does what White Diamond commands. Just like that Pearl, you could be nothing but a toy to her!" Pearl tried to talk Aqua out of fighting the other Pearl.

 

"I know. But I'm not worried about being captured. This is mostly for the satisfaction of defeating the Gem who dragged me here and forced me to act as a leader." 

 

"But that's not worth-!"

 

"And it's also to find a way to turn her back to normal." 

 

"Wuh-what?!" Pearl stuttered upon hearing this. "Is it really worth all of the risks, Aqua?! For a Pearl we don't even know personally, no less!? Think about this for just a moment: who's lives matter more? A team of Gems who, so far, have been completely loyal to you for about two weeks without backstabbing you, or a single Pearl that none of us have any idea of her true identity? I feel that the choice here is obvious." Pearl spoke in a logical manner. "Plus, you have to be careful of what you say to her. That Sapphire could find out who you  _ truly  _ are with the wrong words."

 

"Most of us. Most of us have no idea of who she was before White Diamond got to her." Aqua corrected her Pearl. "You remember what Yellow showed us when the Corundums first broke into the Palace, don't you?"

 

"Yes, what of it?"

 

"Sometime during that holographic sequence, Pink Corundum asked White Corundum of a certain Pearl. She told her that 'her Diamond wouldn't release her anytime soon'. On top of that, you were there when she said that Pink Diamond's first Pearl was taken away, weren't you?" Aqua asked Pearl.

 

"Yes. I've always assumed that she was shattered."

 

"Well, while you all were on that mission hours ago, Pink told me that the Pearl was under White Diamond's  _ possession _ . This Pearl is definitely Pink Diamond's first Pearl." Aqua came to that conclusion. "So, will you help me bring her senses back or what?"

 

"Aqua, don't be ridiculous, any and all victims of White Diamond's possession can't be released by just fighting them. It would require for White Diamond to do it herself, as she's the one controlling them. Her powers directly affect the Gem's gemstone, not the form. If it were the form that was affected, we might have had a chance, but not when it's the gemstone." Pearl explained her thought process.

 

"Well, we haven't tried yet. Maybe, by some miracle, if we destabilize her form, she'll be completely released from her control and be herself again."

 

"Were you even listening to me?" Pearl deadpanned.

 

"Not throughout the whole speech, no."

 

Pearl sighed.

 

"For now, just focus on preventing her from capturing us." Pearl told Aqua.

 

They both turned, ready to fight the Pearl, only to see that Sapphire and Periwinkle Pearl already made progress in doing so. One of White Pearl's feet were frozen, stuck to the ground. Pink Corundum desperately tried to stop them from fighting the Pearl, only to be met with more fighting. White Pearl blocked most of the attacks from the Gems with the lance, despite being partially frozen.

 

"Come on Pearl, let's do this." Aqua said, a determined look on her face. Bubblegum Pearl nodded while summoning her staff, swinging it in preparation to stab the Pearl in front of her. 

 

White Pearl blasted the ice that handicapped her, breaking it. With this, she was quickly moving around, preparing to strike a target. 

 

"She could stop anywhere, be cautious." Bubblegum Pearl warned. She swung her staff above her body, preparing to strike the puppeted Pearl.

 

"Come on, let me just-!" Pink Corundum started, but was struck by the lance White Pearl held.

 

"I'll start with  _ you _ , you're the most insecure Gem here." The Pearl sneered.

 

"Pearl, don't you remember me? I'm one of your best friends!" Pink cried desperately. "You don't  _ really  _ want to kill me, it's White Diamond who wants to. So, if you're still in there, please, come back to me, ok?" She pleaded.

 

The only response she got was a kick in her face.

 

"Alright, clearly this isn't going anywhere." Pink responded. "Pearl, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice." She then loosened her ribbons from her hair, leaving her long, magenta hair loose. She twirled the two ribbons until they transformed into two pink swords, much to the surprise of the group. "Let's dance." She said, a smile forming on her face.

 

She attempted to stab the Pearl in front of her, White Pearl blocking the weapon with her lance. Both of them attempted to advance their weapons to stab the other.

 

White Pearl had enough. She swung her lance up, below Pink's sword, making it rise up to land three feet away from the duo. Pink reached for her other sword, tightening her grip on this one.

 

"She will be captured if this continues." Sapphire spoke. "It is best if you three fight alongside her." She referred to Aqua and the Pearls. Sapphire proceeded to pick up the lifeless form of Cyan Corundum. Her form still had dulled colors, lacked pupils and had dark vein-like marks on her arms. "I will bring this one back. Only exposure to light will help her return to her previous state, and this place lacks light. Distract that Pearl, it's the only way I can get away."

 

"Your future vision is a valuable asset to us, Sapphire. If Cyan has to be brought back to that place, let one of the Pearls-"

 

"It has to be me. I'll only be an extra Gem to carry if I stay here. The Pearls have summonable weapons, I only have my abilities and these knuckledusters I picked up, which are only useful for hand-to-hand combat. It will be impossible for me to even touch White Diamond's Pearl." Sapphire interrupted Aqua. "The Pearls have weapons that could be utilized for long-range use if used properly. None of us were made to fight, none of us except  _ you _ , you're a Quartz."

 

"Just because that's the case doesn't make it easier for me. I was made after the war, there weren't much Gems for me to fight for me to gain more fighting skills." Aqua argued to Sapphire.

 

"Even so, it's better for you to be with  _ them _ ,  _ I  _ need to do  _ my  _ part and carry the Corundum back." 

 

Before Aqua could argue with her any further, Sapphire jetted to the Warp Pad, being ever-so-careful not to drop Cyan (slowing herself down a bit in the process). White Pearl took notice of this, stopping her duel with Pink Corundum.

 

"No one is leaving this place unless it's to surrender yourself!" She charged a beam from her lance to hit Sapphire. She then felt something impale her form.

 

The sword.

 

Pink Corundum impaled White Pearl just above her Gem, marking her as the winner of the duel.

 

Sapphire successfully reached the Warp Pad, warping back to the place where Yellow Corundum waited for them.

 

White Pearl dropped her lance, feeling immense pain quickly spread across her form. The lance dissipated into pure light.

 

______________

  
  


_ The vessel isn't responding. _

 

_ It won't respond to any of my actions. _

 

_ I want her to keep fighting. _

 

_ To get her back. _

 

_ Move, damn it! _

 

_ Stop being so weak and stand the pain! _

 

_ Then again, she is a Pearl. _

 

_ Those aren't made to handle such a large amount of pain. _

 

_ Well, even if I lose her, I still have  _ you.

 

_ You're more durable. _

 

_ You're more powerful. _

 

**_You belonged to her._ **

  
  


______________

  
  


White Pearl started shaking, seemingly very close to being destabilized.

 

She then started laughing, a silent giggle. That silent giggle would soon turn into an audible laugh.

 

And that would turn into a cackle.

 

**_POOF!_ **

 

And then she was gone. Reduced to nothing but a gemstone.

 

"I'm sorry." Pink whispered. Tears rolled down her cheek. "You would've shattered me if I didn't do it."

 

The pearl gemstone, despite not having a form, still appeared grayscale. It hadn't returned to its former pink color.

 

"So poofing her doesn't restore her, huh?" Pink asked rhetorically. 

 

"It would appear not." Bubblegum Pearl stated. "If that's the case, we should encase her in a bubble. It's the most we can do for her, at least for now. This way White Diamond can't utilize her."

 

"Wait, let me try something before we do that." Pink responded. She proceeded to summon a bottle of pink liquid from her Gem. The liquid only took up ⅛ of the bottle, the rest of it being empty space.

 

"What is that?" Aqua questioned her.

 

"The only thing Rose was good for." Pink responded. "Healing tears."

 

"Why didn't you use that on me when I had that scar? Or just now to heal Cyan?" Aqua asked. "We could've avoided  _ so  _ much tension if you had used it on me." 

 

"I was saving it for a dire situation like this."

 

"And  _ those _ weren't dire situations?"

 

"Hey, you were healed. Cyan will supposedly be fine according to Sapphire. Pearl over here isn't going to heal so easily."

 

"I was only healed because-"

 

"We don't have time for this." Pink interrupted Aqua. She unscrewed the cork from the bottle, picking up the gemstone after. She picked up the bottle with one hand, and held the gem in the other.

 

Finally, she poured a bit of the liquid on the gemstone. Small sparkles surrounded the area where the liquid was poured.

 

Nothing happened for a bit.

 

Pink was ready to give up hope.

 

That is, until something happened.

 

A small portion of the pearl turned pink in color. The rest remained grayscale.

 

Pink was visibly eager from this change. She smiled, awaiting for the rest of the gemstone to change as well.

 

It never happened.

 

"Do you think she'll remember me this time?" Pink asked her teammates.

 

"I don't think healing tears heal possession, Corundum." Periwinkle Pearl told her.

 

"We won't know until she reforms!" Pink answered.

 

"Pearls take a long time to reform, maybe consider going back to the watchtower instead of staying here?" Bubblegum Pearl aimed her question at both Aqua and Pink.

  
  


______________

  
  


"We didn't even  _ know  _ about you heathens until we were assigned this mission!" The Heliodor cried.

 

"And who assigned this mission to you two? Give me every single detail." Yellow Corundum scared the Heliodor into talking.

 

"It was Yellow Diamond, she assigned it to us after being sent a report about your team unsuccessfully raiding that Shipyard." 

 

"I see. Who sent the report?"

 

"I- I don't know- PLEASE DON'T SHATTER ME!" Heliodor begged for mercy.

 

"I won't. Only if you pretend that you never found us  _ or  _ the Sapphire." Yellow threatened her. "Or else, you know what will happen. Go now, scurry back to Yellow Diamond."

 

Heliodor then ran away.

 

"It always works." Yellow smirked. "It only took five hours."

 

She then heard the Warp Pad.

 

Immense relief filled her at that moment. She ran to the location it was at. She only saw Sapphire's face.

 

"Where are all the others?" She asked, her relief disappearing.

 

"They're healing White Diamond's Pearl in approximately ten minutes. They've already won. But, you're not going to like what I'm about to show you." Sapphire responded.

 

She proceeded to show her Cyan's lifeless form.

 

Yellow froze in shock.

 

Was  _ this  _ the result of their fight?

 

"She only needs excessive light to return to normal." Sapphire informed Yellow.

 

She almost looked like  _ them. _

 

_ The subjects. _

 

No, no. They were different from her.

 

This can be reversed, their condition can't.

 

What did it matter? They were all dead anyway.

 

But-

 

"Yellow!" A familiar voice called.

 

This was enough to snap Yellow out of her thoughts.

 

"Pink! Thank goodness you're safe." She hugged Pink.

 

"Of course I'm-!"

 

She was interrupted by a slap in the face.

 

"What did we tell you about going there?!"

 

"Not to go-"

 

" _ Not to go there! Exactly!"  _

 

"But Yellow, I got Pink Diamond's Pearl back." Pink proceeded to show Yellow the gemstone.

 

"It's half white and half pink, that shouldn't count as 'getting her back'."

 

"Well, we'll see who's laughing when she… reforms…" Pink started, but was interrupted by the glowing of the Pearl.

 

The light coming from the levitating Pearl transformed into her first form, then dissipated as it showed her new form. It was the same as the old one, except instead of the long sleeves that covered her entire arms, they were short, sheer, frilly sleeves. Her long stockings were also changed to shorts.

 

The most notable difference, however, is the coloration of the Pearl.

 

Her right side is grayscale, her left side is pink.

 

Unfortunately, she still lacked her left eye.

 

She fell to the ground, placing her hand where the outline of her left eye is.

 

"Pearl?" Pink stepped forward.

 

Pink Pearl looked up to see Pink Corundum.

 

She opened her mouth to speak.

 

No words came out.

 

"What's wrong?" Pink Corundum questioned the Pearl.

 

"We can deal with this later, right now, we need to leave before someone catches us here." Aqua told them both.

 

Pink Pearl seemed confused. Immensely confused.

 

Pink Corundum grabbed Pearl's hand.

 

"Come on, let's go!" She told her.

 

She dragged her for two seconds before Pearl let go.

 

"What happened?"

 

Pink Pearl sighed.

 

She took a pink console out of her Gem and began to write on it.

 

She wrote this in Gem: "Where are we? What are you and I doing here with them?"

 

"Uh… this is a Homeworld watchtower. We're here because… uh… well… you were controlled by White Diamond and I healed you."

 

She then wrote this: "Where's Pink Diamond?"

 

Pink Corundum tried her hardest to hold back tears.

 

"She's fine. She received another Pearl to replace you, along with a Pink Spinel. One with a heart cut."

 

Pink Pearl seemed upset at this.

 

"Come on, let's just go!" Aqua yelled.

 

And so, they left in another attempt to escape.

  
  


____________

  
  


"And that's when she threatened me!" Heliodor spoke.

 

"Interesting. My previous Corundum is part of this entourage?"

 

"Yes, My Diamond. Surprisingly so."

 

"Hm. Seems we should take a different approach to this new uprising before it becomes a repeat of the first." Yellow Diamond said, thoughtfully. "Pearl?"

 

"Yes, My Diamond?" Yellow Diamond's Pearl answered.

 

"Get into contact with the Gems who issued the report."

 

"Right away, My Diamond."

  
  
  


**_To be continued..._ **

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that this fic has a blog on tumblr, find it here: https://askhopediamondandcrew.tumblr.com/


	13. A Great Honor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a break from Aqua's crew and see the perspective of another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than usual and might seem compact and I apologize for that. I couldn't come up with much for this.
> 
> BUT! Expect more frequent updates from here on out (for real this time). I'm doing very well in school and as a result, I have more time to work on this fanfiction. Which is always great.
> 
> As always, enjoy!

**_One of Homeworld's Many Colonies:_ **

  
  


An arena battle was taking place in the Cirrus Arena between two Gems, both from Yellow Diamond's court. A match that wouldn't end until one of the Gems' forms was damaged enough to dissipate. The winner would receive praise, become a commander of a fleet of Gems, and receive their own specialized weapon, customized to their preference.

 

On one side, a Pyrope. A well-respected Gem of the Garnet variety. She had her own Ruby guard, and relied on her pyrokinetic abilities in combat. Her Gem Weapon is an axe. As a Garnet, she was high in the Caste. She was ranked right above Lapis Lazulis.

 

On the other, an Amazonite. A warrior Gem, she is very skilled in both agility and strategy. Their purpose in Homeworld’s system is to enhance the combat skills of Quartzes through rigorous training, as well as fight battles. Amazonites were ranked above Jades in the Caste System.

 

In the audience were several Gems from Yellow Diamond's Court, spectating the fight as a source of entertainment. Arena battles were a primary source of entertainment nowadays, as getting a Spinel was  _ very _ unlikely for most Gems. For one, they were rare, unlike Pearls. Another factor was that the Gems would barely have enough time to stop and enjoy the company of their Spinel.

 

The audience was very amused at the moment, anticipating a victor soon.

 

"These two put up a good fight. Better than that  _ other  _ matchup from a while back. Agate vs Carnelian. Take a wild guess who won."

 

"Can't argue with you there. Honestly, these were  _ so  _ much more entertaining when the matchups were arranged better. When was the last time that happened? It's been such a long time."

 

"Seriously. If you're going to encourage the elites to watch a match, at least make it worth our time."

 

"I've fought better battles than these in the war, I swear. Those rebels were a hassle, but I tell you: they put up a good fight."

 

"If you wanted a good fight, Emerald, you should have fought that group that invaded your shipyard. A fusion, a Pearl and a Quartz? Sounds  _ awfully  _ similar to the old rebellion, doesn't it? It's like history is repeating itself."

 

"I know, but did you  _ see  _ what that Quartz did to those Quartz guards? She literally  _ decimated  _ them. You-know-who only dissipated the Gems' physical forms."

 

"I'm a  _ Moonstone _ , Emerald. My purpose is to empower Gems to their full potential and then some. With your skills, my enhancements, and Chalcedony's abilities, we would've had an equal- no,  _ advantage _ against that team."

 

Emerald thought for a moment.

 

"You know what? You're right. That would've been brilliant. Chalcedony was able to scar the Quartz, wasn't she? Imagine if she used  **_that_ ** power on all of them! We'd have an easy win!" Emerald became ecstatic, only to be settled down shortly after.

 

"Wait, she scarred the Quartz. And that was weeks ago. She's most likely been shattered by now. If that's the case, what happened to the other rebels? Did they disband?" Emerald came to a realization.

 

"Well, it's only a matter of time until we find out. Yellow Diamond  _ did  _ seem to take the report pretty seriously, maybe she took investigation into her own hands?" Moonstone wondered. "It's been weeks since then, how long do these investigations take? Why not send the Eclipse Warriors after them, if they're expected to shatter within the next hundred years, why not use them?" Moonstone questioned.

 

"Perhaps they're trying not to expend them too much until they eventually crumble into pieces?"

 

Their conversation was interrupted by the cheering of the crowd.

 

Pyrope had won against Amazonite.

 

______________________

  
  


"Welcome back, Captain." Emerald's Ruby guard greeted. "Did you enjoy the match?"

 

"It was alright, I guess. I got a bit bored and wasn't watching for a bit." Emerald responded.

 

A built, yellow Gem walked up to her. 

 

" _ We  _ never get to these things, Emerald. At least show some appreciation of everything the Diamonds allow you to do. I literally risked myself both in the war  _ and  _ in my…  _ alterations,  _ and I'm still treated like any other Quartz. The hierarchy I tell you.” She scoffed.

 

“Well, technically you are. Just with deadlier powers.” Moonstone responded.

 

“Hmph. Either way I’m nothing more than an enhanced Quartz now. During the war, I was a hero.” 

  
  


“Either way, you can’t exactly do a lot like that, Chalcedony.” Emerald added. “Your gem has been growing darker as of late. Look at all of those veins, that can’t be healthy on the gem.”

 

Chalcedony stayed silent.

 

"...Shall we head back to Homeworld? Nephrite is awaiting our return." Moonstone broke the silence.

 

Emerald turned on her ship's engines, all the Gems onboard heading to their seats.

 

"Let's go."

  
  


__________________

  
  


Midway through the ship's flight, a ringing could be heard on the ship.

 

"Captain Emerald! There's an incoming transmission from Homeworld." Ruby informed Emerald.

 

"Answer it." Emerald responded.

 

Ruby did so. As soon as she pressed the button to accept, the ship screens revealed the caller.

 

All members of the ship crew were shocked at the caller's identity.

 

It was Yellow Diamond herself.

 

"My Diamond! It's an honor to be addressed in this manner!" Emerald excitedly said, her hands saluting to Yellow Diamond. All others did the same.

 

"Am I correct in assuming you are Emerald Facet 379- Cut 7XF?" She asked her.

 

"Y-yes, My Diamond."

 

"I have taken your previous report into investigation, considering you are an Emerald and our… previous rebellion. I have recently heard back from one of the two Heliodor bounty hunters that were sent to gather word of their next location, and she stated they attacked her directly. Of course, we absolutely can not have another rebellion running around in such a short span of time, so I have decided to let your crew handle them yourselves. You have an Eclipse Warrior with you who, according to you, took down their most powerful Gem. You must be able to do this efficiently."

 

"I understand, My Diamond." Emerald stated.

 

"Just in case, I'll be monitoring your every move. Fail to apprehend them within a week, and I'll take matters into my own hands." Yellow coldly stated.

 

"Yes, My Diamond."

 

"Oh, and once you apprehend them all, you absolutely  _ must  _ shatter all their gemstones. With  _ one  _ exception. If you see a Yellow Corundum with a missing eye, bubble her gemstone and bring her to me personally. I'll deal with her myself. That will be all."

 

"Understood, My Diamond."

 

"Don't fail." Yellow Diamond added before ending the transmission.

  
  


________________

  
  


Emerald couldn't believe it.

 

Her Diamond asked her to personally come up with a plan to defeat the rebels.

 

It was truly an experience.

 

Perhaps, after all of this was done, she would get her own Pearl.

 

Now, how would she find them?

 

There had to be a way to do it, but how?

 

"So, Captain, what's the plan?" Ruby asked.

 

"...I might have an idea." Emerald told Ruby. "Gather around, everyone."

  
  


____________________

  
  


"Captain Emerald! You've returned!" A Nephrite cried out. Her cabochon Gem was where her single eye would be, she had white hair tied into pigtails. She sported a yellow diamond and her uniform. "Are you ready to head to the new colony?"

 

"Not at this moment, Nephrite. I have an important mission from Yellow Diamond to attend to. A new group of rebels have appeared. Unfortunately."

 

"Aw." Nephrite said, a bit disappointed.

 

"You may go on without me, this mission will be dangerous and I don't want you to get shattered, Nephrite."

 

"I understand."

 

"Good. Be safe."

 

Emerald then left.

 

Nephrite questioned when she'd be back to lead her again.

  
  
  


______________   
  


 

 

**_A few hours later:_ **

  
  


"So, you all understand what to do, correct?" Emerald asked her crew.

 

"Yes, captain." All but Moonstone said.

 

"Yes, but how will we get them to go along?" Moonstone asked.

 

Emerald smirked.

 

"We'll find a way."

  
  
  


**_To be continued..._ **

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that this fanfiction has an ask blog on tumblr! Visit it here: https://askhopediamondandcrew.tumblr.com/
> 
> See you next time!
> 
>  
> 
> ....The finale is coming, the finale is coming....


	14. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pink Pearl, now with regained senses, finds herself being captured by Aqua and her crew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this one was a challenge. I had to rewrite a huge chunk of this because of the release of "Volleyball" and Pink Pearl's revelation in terms of personality. Then again, it does make writing a certain future chapter MUCH easier.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

**_Homeworld:_ **

  
  


Aqua Aura Quartz and her crew had moved a considerable distance from the area they were once at from fear of being captured. They now had an extra Gem to bring along, due to unforeseen circumstances (except maybe to Sapphire). They had a third Pearl now, one that didn't belong to Aqua. Though, her skills may not be as great as the other team members. For one, she was missing an eye (although, the same could be said for Yellow Corundum). Another thing was that she was completely mute. She could only communicate through written language from either her gem console or holographic projections, which were only really useful for stealth. She was also split between two colors: grayscale and pink. The only reason Aqua agreed to keep her around was due to her intrigue of the Pearl's condition.

 

There was another problem: she only "spoke" to Pink Corundum. She showed no interest in the other members of the party, even the other two Pearls: Periwinkle and Bubblegum. She also wasn't very _open_ to the idea of running away from Homeworld. Pearls were _insanely_ loyal, Aqua had seen that for herself. Getting one that isn't hers on her side would definitely be a challenge.

 

Especially since Pink Corundum absolutely _refuses_ to tell the Pearl of her owner's untimely fate. She was afraid of what would happen if she _did_ tell the Pearl.

 

Pink Pearl had her hands clasped together, a curious expression on her face. She projected words in Gem Glyph from her Gem.

 

 _"Where are we going, Corundum?",_ It read.

 

"I don't know, honestly. I don't call the shots in this group, Aqua does." Pink Corundum clarified.

 

"Pink!"

 

Both Pink Gems perked up at hearing the name.

 

Bubblegum Pearl realized why as soon as she came.

 

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I forgot you both have the same color… more or less." Bubblegum apologized. "Corundum, have you thought of a possible escape route yet? Yellow said she couldn't think of anything else that didn't involve either extensive amounts of time or a heist." 

 

"Nothing that won't involve those other two. But, if you want to try to steal another ship, considering we have a larger group now, we can use fusion to our advantage as well as our new allies' abilities without any casualties or captive Gems." Pink told the other Pearl, providing her idea. "But right now, I'm preoccupied with Pearl here, getting her accustomed to this whole situation." She motioned towards the multicolored Pearl.

 

The two Pearls stared at each other for a bit.

 

"So… Pearl, how are you liking it here so far?" Bubblegum Pearl asked.

 

A projection from Pink Pearl's gemstone: _"I don't understand. Why are we leaving? Why are all these Gems in some strange group?"_

 

"Oh, well…" Bubblegum took a quick glance at Aqua, who was watching her do so. She was waving her hand near her neck, then pointing to her Gem. She was signaling a certain message: "Don't tell her the truth."

 

Bubblegum was suddenly under a lot of pressure here. She had to make something up.

 

"Uhhh… ahem." Bubblegum cleared her throat. "Sorry about that. I lost track of my thoughts. Our leader, Aqua Aura Quartz, was a Quartz soldier who belonged to White Diamond. She showed potential, unlike any other Quartz, with remarkable talent. She one day found a Pearl who ran away from The Reef, _me._ She took me in for years until she grew bored of Homeworld. And then, we met three Corundums, Pink, Yellow and Cyan. They happened to find us while trying to find the remains of White Diamond's Corundum. And from then on, Aqua was our leader, the one who would guide us out of Homeworld to live our own lives." Bubblegum told the tale, seemingly awestruck at the very notion of the tale.

 

Another projection from Pink Pearl: _"Was your former owner… Pink Diamond?"_ She seemed to be eagerly awaiting a response.

 

"...No. I was never meant to be her Pearl. I was made after she-" Her mouth was covered by Pink Corundum.

 

"I can confirm that she was _never_ Pink Diamond's Pearl, I would know." Pink Corundum informed Pink Pearl, still placing her hand on Bubblegum's mouth. "Until about six hundred years ago, I was still in Pink Diamond's care. Her second Pearl was nothing like B.G."

 

"Any luck with the Pearl?" Yellow Corundum came up to the group. Her attention was fixated to the multicolored Pearl. Pink Pearl took notice of her and immediately pulled up two hands to salute her.

 

"Hm?" Yellow was confused for a bit, before realizing why she'd done this. She forgot that this Pearl knew her before her possession. The salute was done as a sign of respect for her superiors. Which were almost every other Gem. Perhaps she was afraid that she would report her to Yellow Diamond if she hadn't? Corundum _was_ a very different Gem back then, she was a bit strict with Pink Diamond and her attendants. "Oh, you don't have to salute me, Pearl. I don't associate with Yellow Diamond anymore." She quickly reassured the Pearl.

 

Pink Pearl looked confused. 

 

"So… I imagine that you must be _awfully_ confused right now. I mean, it must not have been easy, huh? White Diamond completely removing your eye, using you as blackmail to get Pink Diamond to behave better, and possessing you, leaving you like that for four thousand years. It must've been… somewhat of a traumatic experience?"

 

She used her holographic projection to write this message: _"The eye?"_

 

"Your eye, I know you know that it's gone because it's been gone for _years_ before she got you."

 

Pink Corundum _knew_ where this conversation was going.

 

' _Pearl, no! We agreed that no one had to know! All of us!'_ She wanted to scream to the Pearl, but it would only draw more attention to the situation at hand.

 

"So, Pearl… we should really give you a nickname, we have three Pearls already and it might be confusing at this point just to simply call you 'Pearl'. It can't be simply 'Pink' either, I'm already 'Pink'." She tried to change the subject.

 

Pink Pearl seemed gleeful. " _A nickname?"_ Her hologram showed. " _That reminds me of something Pink would do."_ Her expression changed to a longing one, her enthusiasm fading. " _She's so funny like that…_ ". Pink Pearl seemed to become more and more distant by the second. " _I miss her."_ The final message she projected.

 

"There, there. It's alright." Bubblegum Pearl attempted to comfort her. "I'm… sure she's doing just ... fine."

 

"Anyway, is there a specific nickname that you would like to be called?" Pink Corundum changed the subject of her Diamond.

 

Pink Pearl shook her head.

 

"Hm… how about… 'Petal'?" Pink Corundum pitched in.

 

" _Petal? Where did you come up with such a name?"_ She communicated through a hologram.

 

"From the organic life I've seen on other planets. A petal is derived from a flower when it begins to wither." Corundum explained.

 

Pink Pearl thought for a moment.

 

" _Alright then, Petal it is_." She projected.

 

_____________

  
  


_"So they named you, very cute."_

  
  
  


_________________

  
  
  


"?!" Petal looked behind her, a stunned expression on her face. She could've sworn she heard a voice.

 

"Petal? Did you hear something?" Bubblegum Pearl asked the multicolored Pearl.

 

She thought so.

 

She wasn’t cracked, was she? She heard from other Gems that seeing or hearing things that weren’t actually there was a sign of one’s gemstone breaking, or a sign of a defective Gem, an off-color.

 

That would be bad for her, in more ways than one.

 

Petal, in the end, shook her head.

 

“Hm.” Yellow Corundum hummed.

 

“Well, alright. Just let Aqua or I know if you need anything.” Bubblegum Pearl addressed her before going over to both Periwinkle Pearl and Aqua.

  
  


___________________

  
  
  


"So, how is she doing? Is she adjusting to her current situation well?" Aqua asked Bubblegum Pearl.

 

"Well, she prefers to be called 'Petal' now. And she still misses Pink Diamond, she doesn't know what happened to her." 

 

"Oh. So she doesn't remember any of… well, it's probably for the best." Aqua reminiscences, only to snap out of it quickly. 

 

"I can't imagine that. Being taken away from you, Aqua. It must've been horrible for her." Periwinkle sympathized with Petal. 

 

Petal witnessed the conversation herself, and had one question on her mind, one she probably wouldn't want answered:

 

_What happened to Pink Diamond?_

 

Her thoughts were interrupted by a small hand touching her hand.

 

"I haven't formally welcomed you." Sapphire informed Petal. "I know, you're interpreting this as us suddenly stealing you from White Diamond. But it was for the best. Also, don't listen to the voice inside your head."

 

Petal looked confused, and projected a message: " _Voice inside my head?"_  

 

"You're hearing a voice that no one else can hear, aren't you? Don't listen to anything she says. It will only bring you misfortune."

 

Oh, right. Sapphires have future vision. How could she forget that?

 

Petal projected a message: _"Is there any way that I could ever be fully repaired?"_

 

Sapphire placed a palm on her bangs, before answering the question. 

 

"The only way for you to be fully repaired… is to trust us. To trust Aqua Aura Quartz. I know you're hesitant to trust a group of Gems you just met, and for good reason, but please, at least trust that we will attempt to restore your form to the way it was."

 

Petal _was_ indeed hesitant. Trust a team led by a Quartz? Was it the best idea?

 

She knew the Corundums from before all this, when she still served Pink Diamond. However, she was only close to Pink Corundum. The other three, Cyan, Yellow and White, paid no mind to her. She was just another Pearl to them, and Petal understood why. Pearls weren't exactly considered "real" Gems, but rather as objects, toys for their masters to show off as a demonstration of importance to Gem society. Pink Diamond's Pearl was just another Pearl, the only difference being that she served a Diamond. As did they.

 

Yellow and Blue Diamonds' Pearls would help their Diamonds with their assigned duties as the matriarchs of Homeworld. They were considered "important" as far as Pearls could go. Not as important as Corundums and **_far_** less important than the Diamonds, but they still held a sense of necessity in their existence.

 

What would Pink Diamond's Pearl do? Make her happy, keep her entertained. That was all. Of course, she didn't mind. She grew a very close bond with her Diamond as a result of the unique purpose she had. But, that made her seem less important to all other Gems, as she had less significant roles. This would include the Corundums.

 

However, the Corundums were the _only_ Gems she knew from this bunch. Everyone else was a complete stranger. To trust these Gems with her condition was risky. But did she have any other choice?

 

Petal nodded her head to Sapphire before projecting a message: " _Alright. I'll stay for now_."

 

"So...um, Petal, we're headed off to find a place we could hide out. You may get lost on the way there, so do you mind me holding your hand until we get there? I'll answer any questions you have as best I can." Periwinkle approached Petal.

 

Petal nodded in approval.

 

_"Nghh…"_

 

Every Gem in the team turned their heads towards the source of the noise.

 

Cyan Corundum. She returned from the trance.

 

Yellow cried in relief and joy.

 

She looked around the area in order to process her surroundings. She definitely _wasn't_ in the Ancient Plaza anymore, they were above surface again. She assumed that the Gems defeated Black Corundum already. Her Gem was perfectly intact, signifying that they actually protected her in battle.

 

That's when her eyes rested on a certain Gem.

 

She readied her cryokinetic abilities, surrounding her arms with ice. 

 

"White Diamond's Pearl. You decided to come after us after all, didn't you?" She hissed.

 

Petal immediately saluted, shaking in fear.

 

"Hm? You're not doing that pose you usually do. And your color… it's half pink." Cyan was confused. She turned to Yellow. "Yellow, is White Diamond playing a trick on us by pretending that her Pearl is released?" 

 

"It's a long story, we don't _really know_ at this point. We're trusting her for now, but if she proves to be faking it, we're putting her in a bubble." Yellow glanced at Petal.

 

"Hm. I'm watching you, Pearl." Cyan glared at her.

 

"We named her Petal, Cyan." Pink Corundum approached Cyan.

 

"Pink… did she hurt you?!" Cyan immediately got defensive. "If she laid a single finger on you, I swear I'll-!"

 

"She didn't! Well, at least not in this state-" Pink Corundum hurriedly defended her friend.

 

"Hmph. I'm just making sure you're safe. That's all that matters. How did she even break free from White Diamond anyway?" Cyan questioned.

 

"I used some healing tears that were given to me by Rose Quartz back then. They're all she was good for. It only partially healed her, she can't speak, and her eye is still gone." 

 

"You mean you could've fixed Yellow's eye this whole time and you didn't do it?!" Cyan yelled.

 

"From the looks of Petal, we wouldn't have had enough to do so anyway." Pink remarked.

 

"I'm sure damage from White Diamond is harder to heal than damage from a weapon, Pink." Cyan shot back.

 

Pink jumped a bit at the mention of White Diamond.

 

Aqua intervened with the reunion.

 

"Good to have you back, Cyan, but we really should be going. Petal, this is Cyan. Cyan, this is Petal. Now let's go." 

 

Cyan glared at Petal.

 

"Just so you know, I don't trust you."

 

Petal had a thought: _'Was this really the same Cyan Corundum from before? She's different now, somehow.'_

 

All they could do now is continue.

  
  


_________________

  
  


**_White Diamond's Ship:_ **

  
  


White Diamond smiled, she knew it would be a good idea to send her Pearl to them. It would, of course, result in one of two actions.

 

One: She actually manages to defeat their crew and bring Hope and her Pearls back, punishing them severely for their disobedience towards her. 

 

Two: They defeat her, and attempt to heal her to her previous state. It wouldn't work.

 

The second option was the winner. Of course, the Pearl had regained her senses. But that's all that changed, really.

 

White Diamond could still control her actions, and see what their little resistance is doing. All because of Pink's Corundum's attachment to that Pearl. It was their downfall, that Corundum's glaring flaw.

 

Now, she knew exactly where her creation and her "friends" were at all times.

 

It was time to set her plan into motion.

 

"Corundum, did Yellow Diamond send you that transmission yet?"

 

"Yes, My Diamond. She sent an Emerald, a Moonstone and two other Gems to find Hope Diamond and her Gems. That includes the other Corundums." 

 

"Excellent. Send her the coordinates of their current location, we're going to get Hope back. While you're at it, I'll get Black Corundum to tell those Calcites to enact our new plan. We're abandoning Project: Hope Diamond for the time being."

 

**_White Corundum saluted._ **

 

"As you wish, My Diamond."

  
  
  


**_To be continued..._ **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dUN DUN DUUUUUUN!
> 
> A reminder that this fanfiction has a Tumblr blog! Find it here for more AU information: https://askhopediamondandcrew.tumblr.com/
> 
> The next chapter will be a much faster release, as I've been planning it for the longest.


	15. The Question Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Periwinkle and Petal decide to play a special game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look: A chapter that didn't take forever to post! That's pretty rare. Don't get used to it, just in case anything happens. Enjoy!

**_Homeworld:_ **

  
  


Aqua Aura Quartz and her crew had relocated to a different part of Homeworld in order to locate an area desolated enough to make a possible base of operations. Petal, Pink Diamond's First Pearl, is still having a bit of trouble adapting to these conditions. However, she found comfort in both Pink Corundum and Periwinkle Pearl, as they were her closest friends at the moment; especially Pink Corundum.

 

Cyan Corundum wasn't quick to trust Petal, however. Petal made Pink Corundum happy, but if she hurt either Yellow or Pink, Cyan would make an internal promise to dissipate her form _permanently._  

 

Or at least until she's properly healed.

 

Eventually, they found the most appropriate base they had so far, away from other Gems. An abandoned Kindergarten, once belonging to Blue Diamond. It had a lot of space in the canyons, and the holes in the walls made great hiding spots. 

 

Petal was curious about something, however.

 

Periwinkle Pearl was sitting next to her in one of the holes of the Kindergarten, wanting to get acquainted to Petal. Maybe they could find something they, as Pearls of former Diamonds, had in common. She knew next to _nothing_ about Pink Diamond, but she felt that there was still a chance they could find common ground in some way. 

 

"Since we're both Pearls, do you want me to call you 'Petal' or just 'Pearl' when we're together?" Periwinkle questioned Petal. "I know you must not be accustomed to the name, so I could understand if you would be more comfortable with 'Pearl'." 

 

 _"No, Petal is completely fine."_ Petal projected using her gem's holographic image.

 

"Ok, good to know. How about we play a game I just came up with?"

 

_"A game?"_

 

"You _do_ know what a game is, right?" 

 

Petal nodded.

 

" _Of course! Pink and I used to play lots of games together, sometimes with the Pebbles too."_

 

"In that case, the game is called 'Five Questions'. I ask you a question and you answer, then you ask me a question and I answer it. We will do this five times, and it's only to get to know each other better."

 

" _That sounds easy enough."_

 

"Would you like to start?"

 

" _Okay. Question 1: Who is or was your owner?"_

 

Periwinkle blushed purple, covering her face with her left hand.

 

"I… I guess you could say that Aqua is." She shook her head, trying to get her mind off of the topic. "Question 1: What was it like serving a Diamond?"

  
  


" _It was lots of fun! There were some struggles of course; Pink Diamond was a bit… emotional. She_ **_really_ ** _wanted her own colony, and Corundum and I would have to come with her whenever she visited the other Diamonds. And… after a while, Pink was forced to give me to White Diamond; I don't remember_ **_anything_ ** _from when I served her, though."_

 

"Hm."

 

" _Question 2:_ " _How is your relationship with the other Pearl?_ "

 

"Hm? Do you mean Bubblegum?"

 

Petal nodded.

 

"Well, she's older than I am, but she treats me pretty well so far. She has been helping me on focused combat with my parasol since it really isn’t all that combat-oriented when you put it in perspective. You know… if _you_ ever want weapon training, you can always join us. The point being: she’s actually really nice, _despite her attachment to Aqua._ ” Periwinkle whispered the last statement. “So, question 2: How is _your_ relationship with Pink Corundum? It’s similar to your question in that sense.”

 

“ _Corundum? She’s great! I was there when she was given to Pink as a matter of fact. You should’ve seen her when Blue Diamond gave her to Pink, it took Blue Diamond’s Corundum being there and Pink and I’s reassurance to even get her to approach us. She was so timid before she actually got to know Pink Diamond for who she is! She was always so kind to us, which I loved. She helped Pink a bunch too when she needed it, even when she didn’t order her to.”_

 

“What about during the Gem-?"

 

Petal interrupted her by putting her hand up.

 

" _No, no. You can't ask two questions in a row."_ Petal closed her eye, smirking at Periwinkle. " _Save that one for your next turn, unless you want to ask a different one."_

 

"Hmph. Fine, you're right." Periwinkle huffed, smiling.

 

" _Question 3: How exactly did your leader convince three of the Diamonds’ Corundums to join this… entourage?”_

 

“To be honest, I don’t exactly know myself. Aqua only told me that the rest of their cut was shattered and only they were left, but not how she found them. You can ask Aqua about that, though, or one of them.” 

 

Periwinkle thought about her next question.

 

She _wanted_ to ask Petal about what the Rebellion was, why they were such a big deal although they’ve been disposed of for hundreds of years. But would that be a wise question to ask? Perhaps it was a sensitive topic.

 

“Question 3: Do you… know how to fight other Gems?”

 

“ _Fight? As in combat? Why would I need to do such a thing?”_ Petal was bewildered at the thought. A Pearl fighting other Gems? 

 

“Well, B.G. and I learned how to do it. It’s useful for us since we’re always at the very brink of being captured. I protected Aqua thanks to my parasol, and B.G. probably did it a lot more before me, if anything.”

 

" _But why would you endanger yourself like that? You could be shattered."_

 

"You know, everything I do is for _her_ ; for Aqua. Every risk, every precaution, every single action. It's all to achieve her goals."

 

" _Question 4: What goals?"_

 

"She wants to leave this place, to reinvent herself into a new Gem. She wants her freedom with us by her side. And I, her trusted Pearl with her. All I want is for her to be happy."

 

" _I know how that feels."_

 

"Question 4: How long have you been under White Diamond's control for?"

 

" _I'm not entirely sure. I had no sense of time while in that state. Or any sense at all."_

 

"Pearl?" 

 

"B.G.? What is it?" Periwinkle questioned the Pearl.

 

"Aqua needs us both. She's attempting to manifest her weapon properly." Bubblegum Pearl had her eyes closed, her arms behind her back.

 

"Petal, I have to go. We'll continue the game later. In the meantime, you can hang out with the Corundums or Sapphire."

 

Petal had but one thought: Was that Pearl only using her to get closer to her owner?

 

No, no. She wouldn't do something like that, would she?

 

Petal chose to believe in her new friend, she hated to think otherwise.

 

She headed off to find Pink Corundum in the meantime.

  
  


* * *

  
  


"Periwinkle! There you are." Aqua greeted,. “You’ve certainly spent a lot of time with that Pearl.”

 

“Petal? She’s actually really nice. A bit… _detached._ But nice!”   
  


“Detached how? Elaborate.” Bubblegum Pearl was a bit concerned.

 

“She misses Pink Diamond. I’m not entirely certain if it’s propaganda or legitimate love for her Diamond. Weren’t all the other Diamonds tyrants?”

 

“Perhaps. I’ve never met Yellow, Blue or Pink. But it could be inferred that they were as well.” Aqua commented.

 

“So… why would Petal be so insistent on the fact that Pink Diamond actually cared for her?”

 

“Corundum implied the same, but there’s no proof confirming or denying that.”

 

“It doesn’t matter who Pink Diamond was right now. All that matters is the confirmation that we can trust Petal enough to let her come with us off-planet.” Bubblegum Pearl intervened. “For now, I feel that we should be on-guard at all times. She was White Diamond’s Pearl after all.”

 

“Hm. You’re right.” Aqua spoke. “Periwinkle, go talk to Petal again. Make sure you see if she’s trustworthy or not.”

 

“But what about the weapon-”

 

“That was a cover so she wouldn’t get suspicious.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Now, go. We’re depending on you.”

 

Periwinkle Pearl walked away, giving the two a smile.

 

She blushed purple. Aqua was depending on her! The thought of it was enough to make her blush.

 

* * *

  
  


“So, Petal, you’ve made friends with one of Aqua’s Pearls?” Pink Corundum questioned her.

 

Petal nodded.

 

“And you feel as if you could trust her?”

 

Another nod.

 

Pink Corundum sighed.

 

“If that’s how you feel, I’m happy for you. You’ve managed to make a friend in only thirty-seven hours. And another Pearl no less. Especially Aqua’s Pearls.”

 

“ _What about them?_ "

 

"They only talk about _her._ About Aqua."

 

" _Is it because she owns them?_ "

 

"Well… yes, but no… it's very complicated." Pink began to sweat a bit. Her hands clasped themselves together.

 

" _Does she treat them how Pink used to treat_ **_us_ ** _?_ "

 

"...No. She's not like Pink. Not at all. She _is_ like Pink in one regard, though. She's attached to her Pearls. _Not to mention all the secrets they're keeping for her._ "

 

" _Secrets? But Pink couldn't keep a secret to save her gem."_

 

"Well, let's just say she got better at doing that…"

 

" _How much did I miss while I was gone?"_

 

Pink didn't want to answer that. She stayed silent. The truth was that she missed a great deal of history regarding Pink Diamond. From her new attendants to her demise, Petal missed all of it. Now she would never get to see Pink Diamond again. 

 

She didn't want Petal to bear with that feeling. Not after all she's been through. Both with Pink Diamond _and_ White Diamond.

 

"You missed nothing _too_ major. Just Pink continuing to desire a colony of her own."

 

Petal gave her a sceptical look.

 

" _You're lying to me, aren't you? How long has it been since I was gone?! What has Pink been going through?!"_

 

Corundum had a guilty look on her face. She didn't want to hurt Petal, but she _hated_ lying to her like this. If anyone deserves to know the truth, it was her. She _did_ help her in the past, after all.

 

"Petal! Corundum! There you are!" 

 

It was the voice of a Pearl. Periwinkle Pearl.

 

"I'm back. What were you two talking about?"

 

They both looked at each other.

 

"Just Pink Gem things." Corundum smiled.

 

"Oh, I actually wanted to ask you about something."

 

"And that is-?"

 

"Can you tell me about your time with Pink Diamond? I want to know more about her."

 

Small tears could be seen at the corner of Corundum's eyes, which were soon wiped off.

 

" _Yes! This is the perfect opportunity to tell us what happened to her. Please do tell."_ Petal smiled, her eye squinted.

 

"Alright, fine. But you have to help me do it. You were made before me, remember?"

 

Suddenly, Sapphire, Cyan, Yellow, B.G. and Aqua were in front of them.

 

"When did you all get here?!" Pink practically yelled.

 

"I foresaw you two telling a tale, so I gathered everyone here to witness it. If you want us to leave, that's fine."

 

Pink stared at Cyan and Yellow, almost to spite them. It wasn't a particularly friendly look.

 

"No. It's fine. I _want_ you all here." Pink stated, somewhat coldly. "You all get to know the _real_ Pink Diamond. This will include my and Petal's experiences serving her, and our experiences influenced by her. To make it easier to visualize, we shall visually depict it using holographic projections. That's alright with you, Petal?"

 

Petal nodded.

 

"Very well, let's begin." The pair's gemstones glowed, a pink-colored holographic image expanding in the air. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that this fic has a tumblr! Find it here: https://ask-aqua-aura-quartz.tumblr.com/
> 
> I have an entire week off from school from the point I posted this chapter, so I have more time to work with (or procrastinate, whichever comes first). Next chapter contains some trigger warnings, beware!


End file.
